OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

FOR 
BOYS  AND  GIRLS 


Photo  by  Brown  Bros. 


TAMING  NATURE 


OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

FOR 

BOYS  AND  GIRLS 


BY 


BENNETT  B.    JACKSON,  A.M. 

Superintendent  of  Schools,"  Minneapolis,  Minnesota 


AND 


NORMA  H.  DEMING 

Principal  of  Horace  Mann  School,  Minneapolis,    Minnesota 


AND 


KATHARINE  I.  BEMIS 

Teacher  of  English,  Franklin  Junior  High  School, 
Minneapolis,  Minnesota 


FOREWORD  BY 

DR.  CHARLES  A.  PROSSER 

Director,  The  William  Hood  Dunwoody  Industrial  Institute, 
Minneapolis,  Minnesota 


NEW  YORK 
THE  CENTURY  CO. 

1921 


Copyright,  1921,  by 
THE  CENTURY  Co. 


PRINTED  IN  U.  S.  A. 


PREFATORY  NOTE 

In  preparing  this  volume,  we  have  made  no  attempt 
to  treat  the  subject  exhaustively.  It  has  been  our  en- 
deavor to  present  only  a  few  of  the  many  occupations 
that  are  open  to  the  boys  and  girls  of  to-day,  with  the 
hope  that  the  study  of  these  may  provoke  interest  and 
inquiry  in  the  minds  of  the  young  readers. 

It  will  be  observed  that  many  of  the  more  unusual  and 
uncrowded  vocations  (especially  for  girls)  are  offered 
for  consideration.  We  have  stressed  those  occupations 
that  require  education  and  training,  trusting  that  many 
boys  and  girls  will  feel  the  necessity  of  remaining  in 
school  for  a  thorough  preparation  for  their  life  work, 
thus  avoiding  an  easy  entrance  into  "blind-alley"  jobs. 

We  wish  further  to  state  that  the  salary  and  wage 
schedules  quoted  in  the  various  occupations  have  been 
based  on  the  prevailing  schedules  at  the  time  of  the  publi- 
cation of  this  volume.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
these  vary  constantly,  according  to  ever-changing  eco- 
nomic conditions,  and  to  the  law  of  supply  and  demand. 

THE  EDITORS. 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The  Editors  of  this  volume  make  grateful  acknowledg- 
ment to  the  following  for  permission  to  use  copyright 
material :  - 

Edwin  Markham  for  "  The  Day  and  the  Work." 
Franklin  K.  Lane  for  "  Education  and  Americanization." 
The  "  Christian  Herald  "  for  "  How  Education  Pays." 
The  "  Outlook  "  for  "  Work  "  by  Angela  Morgan. 
Dr.  Kenyon  L.  Butterfield  for  "  Vocations." 
Harper  and  Brothers  and  Burton  J.  Hendrick  for  "  Fitting 
the  Man  to  the  Job." 

Ralph  Albertson,  Literary  Executor  of  Prof.  Frank  Parsons 
for  "  A  Would-be  Doctor,"  by  Frank  Parsons,  Ph.D. 

The  "  New  York  Times  "  for  "  Schools  Where  Boys  Learn 
to  Earn  a  Living  "  by  Katherine  Woods. 

Louis  L.  Park  for  "  Training  the  Boy  for  Industry." 
Frank  H.  Freericks  for  "  Pharmacy  as  a  Vocation." 
Arthur  D.  Little  for  "  Chemistry  in  Overalls." 
The  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  for  "  Employ- 
ment Management  "  by  Edward  D.  Jones ;  "  Farm  Management  " 
by  Walter  J.  Quick;  "  Forestry  Pursuits  "  by  Capt  S.  T.  Dana; 
"  Journalism,"   "  The   Practice  of  Medicine,"   and   "  The   Law 
as  a  Vocation  "  by  Dr.  H.  L.  Smith ;  "  The  Printing  Trades  " 
by  R.  G.  McGrew ;   "  Show-card  Writing "  by  May  H.  Pope, 
and  "  Bee-Keeping  "  by  Walter  J.  Quick. 

"  The  Saturday  Evening  Post "  and  Floyd  Parsons  for  "  The 
New  Day  in  Salesmanship,"  and  "  Miss  Jones  Lands  a  Job." 
Dean  R.  W.  Thatcher  for  "  Farming  as  a  Life  Work." 

vii 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The  "  World's  Work  "  for  "  The  Girl  of  To-morrow  "  by  Ben- 
jamin R.  Andrews. 

The  "  Red-Cross  Magazine "  for  "  She  Wanted  to  be  a 
Farmer"  by  Harriet  Mayo. 

The  "  Review  of  Reviews "  and  Katherine  Speer  Reed  for 
"  New  Open-air  Vocations  for  Women  in  Horticulture." 

Mary  Schenck  Woolman  for  "  Wage-earning  Occupations 
Connected  With  the  House-hold  Arts." 

Louise  Marcley  Cushman  for  "  Secretarial  Work." 

Maurice  Irwin  Flagg  for  "  Vocational  Art." 

Mabel  Robinson  for  "  Interior  Decorating." 

Gratia  A.  Countryman  for  "  Librarianship." 

The  "  Christian  Science  Monitor  "  for  "  A  New  Vocation  for 
Women  "  and  "  A  Woman  Producer  of  Plays." 

Dean  Martha  Tracy  for  "  The  Woman  Physician  and  Her 
Unparalleled  Opportunity." 

Louise  M.  Powell  for  "  Nursing." 

The  Bureau  of  Occupations  for  Trained  Women,  Philadelphia, 
for  "Department  Store  Education"  by  Harriet  B.  Fox;  "Ad- 
vertising as  a  Vocation  for  Women ''  by  Elizabeth  Conover 
Moore ;  "  The  Selling  of  Stocks  and  Bonds  "  by  Clara  A.  Mon- 
roe ;  "  Woman  and  Craftsmanship "  by  Myra  B.  L.  Kohler ; 
"The  Manufacturing  Clerk  in  a  Publishing  House"  by  Laura 
Wilson  ;  "  The  Woman  Laboratory  Worker  "  by  Elsie  Robbins ; 
"Insurance"  by  Mabel  M.  Spencer;  "The  Hospital  Dietitian" 
by  Helen  Evangeline  Gilson ;  "  Statistical  Work  for  Women  " 
by  Neva  R.  Deardorff,  and  "  Tire  Profession  of  Landscape 
Architecture "  by  Elizabeth  Bootes  Clark. 

"  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal "  for  "  Where  Your  Job  May 
Lead  "  by  Ruth  Neely. 


Vlll 


FOREWORD 

This  excellent  reader  on  the  vocational  opportunities 
for  boys  and  girls  in  these  Twentieth  Century  days  would 
have  been  entirely  unnecessary  under  the  simpler  condi- 
tions of  pioneer  life  in  this  country. 

Vocations  were  then  very  few  in  number.  People  lived 
and  worked  and  died  and  were  buried  in  the  little  com- 
munity where  their  parents  resided  before  them.  Sons 
followed  the  callings  of  their  fathers  or  of  their  neighbors 
close  by.  Daughters  lived  at  home,  performing  house- 
hold duties  until  Prince  Charming  knocked  at  the  little 
lattice  gate. 

The  household  arts  like  weaving  and  knitting  and  gar- 
ment making  that  have  now  become  large  commercial  en- 
terprises were  then  practised  in  every  household  and  were 
known  to  every  girl  in  her  teens.  Trades  were  hand- 
crafts  in  which  there  was  no  subdivision  of  labor,  and 
every  workman  learned  all  the  processes  in  the  making 
of  the  complete  article  or  product.  Commercial  callings 
like  those  of  the  stenographer  and  typewriter  in  the 
growth  of  what  might  be  called  distributive  callings  were 
unknown.  Professions  were  few  in  number  and  carried 
on  in  a  crude  way. 

Under  these  simple  conditions  girls  learned  in  the 
household  from  their  mothers  practically  all  of  the  activ- 
ities which  they  would  be  called  upon  to  perform  in  their 
lives  as  daughters,  wives,  and  mothers.  Boys  came  in 
contact  in  very  intimate  ways  with  the  whole  round  of 
trades  and  crafts  practised  in  the  village.  Long  before 
they  arrived  at  maturity  they  had  had  a  chance  not  only 

ix 


FOREWORD 

to  take  part  in  the  work  of  their  fathers'  callings,  but  to 
test  their  interest  and  their  ability  in  the  occupations  of 
their  fathers'  friends  as  well. 

Boys  and  girls  did  not  need  to  read  about  the  demands 
and  the  requirements,  the  opportunities  and  the  possibili- 
ties, of  vocations.  They  learned  about  them  in  what  was 
perhaps  a  more  effective  way  through  actual  experience 
with  them. 

How  different  are  the  conditions  today!  The  discov- 
ery of  steam,  the  invention  of  labor-saving  machinery,  the 
growth  of  our  population,  the  rise  of  an  era  of  large  scale 
production  with  its  centralized  control  and  its  extreme 
division  of  labor,  has  brought  into  our  economic  and  so- 
cial life  many  thousands  of  occupations  unknown  to  our 
ancestors  from  which  boys  and  girls  must  choose  their 
life  work. 

The  simple  village  life  has  given  way  to  large  cities, 
and  the  little  work  shop  with  its  master  and  journeymen 
and  apprentices  has  become  the  modern  factory,  housed 
in  by  walls  behind  which  the  work  is  carried  on  where 
children  do  not  get  a  chance  even  to  see  the  wheels  go 
round. 

The  youth  of  the  Twentieth  Century  faces  the  task  of 
choosing  a  vocation  with  little  if  any  knowledge  gained 
by  experience  which  will  help  him  to  select  the  thing 
which  he  likes  best  and  which  likes  him  best.  Recog- 
nizing this,  modern  society  is  seeking  ways  in  which  to 
help  him  by  furnishing  him  information  with  regard  to 
callings  and  pursuits  and  by  counselling  him  in  his  ado- 
lescent days  as  he  seeks  to  find  himself  and  make  the 
most  of  himself  individually  and  as  a  citizen. 


FOREWORD 

This  reader  would  be  commendable  if  it  had  no  other 
merit  than  a  worthy  effort  to  supply  the  boys  and  girls 
of  this  country  with  needed  information  concerning  voca- 
tional possibilities.  It  is  doubly  commendable  for  the  wis- 
dom that  has  been  shown  in  the  selection  of  topics  and  of 
authorities.  Most  of  the  authors  from  whom  the  selec- 
tions have  been  taken  are  not  only  persons  of  nation-wide 
reputation  but  have  won  their  right  to  speak  with  author- 
ity by  their  successful  experience  in  the  fields  which  they 
treat. 

A  fine  balance  has  been  maintained  in  the  amount  of 
space  and  the  number  of  vocations  described  as  between 
girls  and  boys,  a  most  commendable  thing  when  we  see 
the  extent  to  which  the  modern  girl  and  woman  are  fol- 
lowing wage-earning  pursuits  for  a  part  or  all  of  their 
lives. 

The  list  of  vocations  considered  is  by  no  means  ex- 
haustive or  complete  but  it  is  long  enough  and  wide 
enough  to  furnish  the  youth  with  information  about  a 
great  many  of  the  leading  vocations  and  pursuits  or 
groups  of  vocations  and  pursuits.  It  is  at  the  same  time 
complete  enough  to  stimulate  as  most  important  by-prod- 
ucts certain  points  of  view  which  to  my  mind  are  be- 
coming of  vital  importance  in  American  life — a  respect 
for  the  work  of  all  men,  an  interest  in  the  way  in  which 
the  world  gets  its  work  done,  a  sense  of  responsibility  for 
choosing  and  following  an  occupation  properly,  and  a 
seriousness  of  purpose  in  school  work  as  a  necessary  step 
to  vocational  efficiency. 

C.  A.  PROSSER, 

Director,  The  William  Hood  Dunwoody  Industrial  Insti- 
tute, Minneapolis,  Minn. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

FOREWORD  .  .  C.  A.  Prosser   .  ix 


PART  I 
WHY  CHOOSE  A  VOCATION 

THE  DAY  AND  THE  WORK    .  Edwin  Markham  ...  2 
EDUCATION  AND  AMERICAN- 
IZATION    Franklin  K.  Lane      .      .  3 

How  EDUCATION  PAYS  .      .   The  Christian  Herald      .  7 

WORK Angela  Morgan    ...  9 

VOCATIONS Dr.  Kenyan  L.  Butterfield  u 

PART  II 
VOCATIONS  FOR  BOYS 

FITTING  THE   MAN   TO   THE 

JOB Burton  J.  Hcndrick  .      .  23 

A  WOULD-BE  DOCTOR     .      .  Frank  Parsons,  Ph.  D.  .  33 
SCHOOLS       WHERE       BOYS 

LEARN  TO  EARN  A  LIVING  Katherine   Woods      .      .  40 
PREPARING  THE  BOY  FOR  IN- 
DUSTRY     Louis  L.  Park  .    :      .      .46 

PHARMACY  AS  A  VOCATION  F.  H.  Freericks     .      .      .55 

CHEMISTRY  IN  OVERALLS      .  Arthur  D.  Little     .    .      .  58 

FORESTRY  PURSUITS   .     .      .   Captain  S.  T.  Dana     .    .  67 

EMPLOYMENT  MANAGEMENT  Edward  D.  Jones  ...  79 
FARM  MANAGEMENT  .    .      .    Walter  J.   Quick,  M.  S., 

Ph.D.      ......  85 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

JOURNALISM Dr.  H.  L.  Smith   .      .      .     92 

THE  PRACTICE  OF  MEDICINE  Dr.  H.  L.  Smith  .  .  .  103 
THE  LAW  AS  A  VOCATION  .  Dr.  H.  L.  Smith  .  .  .no 
THE  PRINTING  TRADES  .  .  T.  G.  McGrezv  .  .  .118 
SHOW-CARD  WRITING  .  .  May  H.  Pope  ....  121 

BEE-KEEPING Walter  J.   Quick,  M.  S., 

Ph.D 126 

FARMING   AS   A  LIFE- WORK  R.  W .  Thatcher   .      .      .134 
THE   NEW   DAY   IN    SALES- 
MANSHIP       Floyd  Parsons      .      .      .    141 

PART  III 
VOCATIONS  FOR  GIRLS 

Miss  JONES  LANDS  A  JOB  .  Floyd  Parsons  .  .  .155 
WHERE  YOUR  JOB  MAY 

LEAD  To Ruth  Ncely     .      .      .      .    169 

THE  GIRL  OF  TO-MORROW    .  Benjamin    R.    Andreivs, 

Ph.D 174 

SHE  WANTED  TO  BE  A 

FARMER Harriet  Mayo  .  .  .  .185 

WAGE-EARNING  OCCUPA- 
TIONS CONNECTED  WITH 
THE  HOUSEHOLD  ARTS  .  Mary  Schcnk  Woolman  .  196 

SECRETARIAL  WORK   .     ,      .  Jessica  Louise  Marcley    .   204 

VOCATIONAL  ART  ....   Maurice  Invin  Flagg  .    .   207 

LIBRARY  WORK     ....   Gratia  A.  Countryman     .   211 

A  NEW  VOCATION  FOR  WO- 
MEN   Christian  Science  Monitor  214 

DEPARTMENT-STORE  EDUCA- 
TION   Harriett  R.  Fox  .  .  .216 

ADVERTISING  AS  A  PROFES- 
SION FOR  WOMEN  .  .  .  Elizabeth  Conover  Moore  219 

THE  SELLING  OF  STOCKS 

AND  BONDS Clara  A.  Monroe  .  .  .  223 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

WOMEN  AND  CRAFTSMANS- 
SHIP Mira  Burr  Eson-Kohler  227 

THE  MANUFACTURING  CLERK 

IN  A  PUBLISHING  HOUSE  Laura  Wilson       .      .      .  231 

A     WOMAN     PRODUCER    OF 

PLAYS Christian  Science  Monitor  236 

THE  WOMAN  PHYSICIAN  AND 
HER  UNPARALLELED  OP- 
PORTUNITY .  .  .  .  .  Martha  Tracy  ....  239 

THE    WOMAN    LABORATORY 

WORKER Elsie  Robbins  ....   248 

INSURANCE Mabel  M.  Spencer    .      .     251 

NURSING Louise  M.  Powell,  R.N.  255 

THE  HOSPITAL  DIETITIAN     .  Helen  Evangelinc  Gilson  259 

STATISTICAL  WORK  FOR  WO- 
MEN   Neva  R.  Deardorff  .  .  263 

HORTICULTURE  OFFERS  A 
NEW  OPEN-AIR  VOCATION 
FOR  WOMEN  ....  Katherine  Speer  Reed  .  267 

THE    PROFESSION    OF    LAND- 
SCAPE ARCHITECTURE  .     .   Elizabeth  Bootes  Clark    .   270 

INTERIOR  DECORATING     .      .  Mabel  Robinson    .     .     .  273 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 
Taming  nature .     Frontispiece 

PAGE 

A  Valley  Forge  hut 5 

Exercise  for  brain  and  body 41 

Where  theory  is  made  practicable 59 

Logging .  68 

Saving  the  forests 73 

Modern  hospital  operating  room 102 

Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court in 

A  modern  press  room .118 

Our  humble  helpers 127 

A  harvester 135 

Uncle  Sam's  Land  Army 186 

A  class  of  art  students 208 

Mosaic  making 226 

Dr.  Elizabeth  Blackwell 240 

Mme.  Sklodowska  Curie 247 

Clara  Barton 256 

Hospital  kitchen 260 

Women  horticulturists    ,                                             .      .  266 


PART  I 
WHY  CHOOSE  A  VOCATION 


THE  DAY  AND  THE  WORK 

There  is  waiting  a  work  where  only  his  hands  can  avail; 
And  so,  if  he  falters,  a  chord  in  the  music  will  fail. 
He  may  laugh  to  the  sky,  he  may  lie  for  an  hour  in  the  sun 
But  he  dare  not  go  hence  till  the  labor  appointed  is  done. 

To  each  man  is  given  a  marble  to  carve  for  the  wall: 
A  stone  that  is  needed  to  heighten  the  beauty  of  all : 
And  only  his.  soul  has  the  magic  to  give  it  a  grace : 
And  only  his  hands  have  the  cunning  to  put  it  in  place. 

EDWIN  MARKHAM 


EDUCATION  AND  AMERICANIZATION 

IT  has  never  seemed  to  me  that  it  was  difficult  to  define 
Americanization  or  Americanism :  "  I  appreciate 
something,  I  admire  something,  I  love  something.  I 
want  yon,  my  friends,  my  neighbors,  to  appreciate  and 
admire  and  love  that  thing,  too.  That  something  is 
America." 

The  process  is  not  one  of  science;  the  process  is  one  of 
humanity.  But,  just  as  there  is  no  way  by  which  the 
breath  of  life  can  be  put  into  a  man's  body,  once  it  has 
gone  out,  so  there  is  no  manner  by  which,  with  all  our 
wills,  we  can  make  an  American  out  of  a  man  who  is  not 
inspired  -by  our  ideals,  and  there  is  no  way  by  which  we 
can  make  any  one  feel  that  it  is  a  blessed  and  splendid 
thing  to  be  an  American,  unless  we  ourselves  are  aglow 
with  the  sacred  fire,  unless  we  interpret  Americanism  by 
our  kindness,  our  courage,  our  generosity,  our  fairness. 

What  is  America?  There  is  a  physical  America  and 
there  is  a  spiritual  America.  And  they  are  so  interwoven 
that  you  can  not  tell  where  the  one  ends  and  the  other 
begins. 

I  would  give  to  the  man  whom  I  wished  to  Ameri- 
canize (after  he  had  learned  the  language  of  this  land) 
a  knowledge  of  the  physical  America,  not  only  that  he 
might  admire  its  strength,  its  resources,  and  what  it  could 
do  against  the  world,  but  that  he  might  have  pride  in  this 
as  a  land  of  hope  —  a  land  where  men  had  won  out. 

And  I  would  give  to  that  man  a  knowledge  of  America 


4  OPPOiVrtlNiTIE'S  OF  TODAY 

that  would  make  him  ask  the  question,  "  How  did  this 
come  to  be?"  And  then  he  would  discover  that'  there 
was  something  more  to  our  country  than  its  material 
strength. 

It  has  a  history ;  it  has  a  tradition.  I  would  take  that 
man  to  Plymouth  Rock,  and  I  would  ask,  "  What  does 
that  Rock  say  to  you?  "  I  would  take  him  down  to  the 
ruined  church  on  the  James  River,  and  I  would  ask, 
"  What  does  that  little  church  say  to  you  ?  "  And  I 
would  take  him  to  Valley  Forge  and  point  out  the  huts  in 
which  Washington's  men  lived,  three  thousand  of  them, 
struggling  for  the  independence  of  our  country,  and  I 
would  ask,  "  What  do  they  mean  to  you  ?  What  induced 
those  colonists  to  suffer  as  they  did  —  willingly?  " 

And  then  I  would  take  him  to  the  field  of  Gettysburg 
and  lead  him  to  the  spot  where  Lincoln  delivered  his  im- 
mortal address,  and  I  would  ask  him,  "  What  does  that 
speech  mean  to  you?  Not  how  beautiful  it  is!  But 
what  word  does  it  speak  to  your  heart?  How  much  of 
it  do  you  believe  ?  " 

And  then  I  would  take  him  to  Santiago  de  Cuba,  and  I 
would  ask,  "  What  does  that  bay  mean  to  you  ?  " 

And  I  would  take  him  over  to  the  Philippines,  where 
ten  thousand  native  teachers  every  day  teach  eight  hun- 
dred thousand  native,  children  the  English  language. 
And  I  would  bring  him  back  from  the  Philippines  to  the 
Hawaiian  Islands.  And  I  would  show  the  man  how  these 
children,  whether  Japanese  or  American,  no  matter  what 
their  source,  stand  every  morning  before  the  American 
flag  and  raise  their  little  hands  and  pledge  themselves 
to  one  language,  one  country,  and  one  God. 

And*  then  I  would  bring  him  back  to  this  country  and 


EDUCATION  AND  AMERICANIZATION         5 

I  would  say :  "  Grasp  the  meaning  of  what  I  have  shown 
you  and  you  will  know  then  what  Americanism  is.  It  is 
not  115,000,000  people  alone:  it  is  115,000,000  people 
who  have  lived  through  struggle,  and  who  have  arrived 
through  struggle,  and  who  have  won  through  work.  Let 
us  never  forget  that ! '' 


A  VALLEY  FORGE  HUT 

We  are  to  conquer  this  land  in  that  spirit,  and  in  our 
spirit  we  are  to  conquer  other  lands,  because  our  spirit 
is  one  that  like  a  living  flame  goes  abroad. 

And  again  it  is  like  some  blessed  wind  —  some  soft, 
sweet  wind  that  carries  a  benison  across  the  Pacific  and 
the  Atlantic.  And  we  must  keep  alive  in  ourselves  the 
thought  that  this  spirit  is  Americanism;  that  it  is  robust 
and  dauntless  and  kindly  and  hearty  and  fertile  and  ir- 
resistible ;  and  that  through  it  men  win  out  against  all  ad- 
versity. That  is  what  has  made  us  great. 

It  is  sympathetic.     It  is  compelling.     It  is  revealing. 


6  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

It  is  just.  The  one  peculiar  quality  in  our  institutions  is 
that  not  alone  in  our  hearts,  but  out  of  our  hearts,  has 
grown  a  means  by  which  man  can  acquire  justice  for 
himself. 

How  best  may  we  spread  that  spirit  through  the  land  ? 
How  best  can  we  explain  our  purposes  and  interpret  our 
systems  ? 

Through  the  community  council,  through  the  school, 
I  am  making  an  appeal  to  Congress  on  behalf  of  an  ap- 
propriation that  will  permit  us  to  deliver  from  bondage 
thousands,  tens  of  thousands,  millions  of  children  and 
men  and  women  in  the  United  States  — to  liberate  them 
from  the  blinders  of  ignorance,  that  all  the  wealth  and 
beauties  of  literature  and  the  knowledge  that  come 
.through  the  printed  word  can  be  revealed  to  them. 

Congress  will  be  asked  to  help  all  States  willing  to  co- 
operate in  banishing  illiteracy. 

And  I  want  you  to  help.  We  want  to  interpret 
America  in  terms  of  the  square  deal.  We  want,  in 
the  end,  to  interpret  America  in  healthier  babies  that 
have  enough  milk  to  drink.  We  want  to  interpret 
America  in  boys  and  girls  and  men  and  women  who 
can  read  and  write.  We  want  to  interpret  America  in 
better  housing  conditions  and  decent  wages,  in  hours  that 
will  allow  a  father  to  know  his  own  family. 

This  is  Americanization  in  the  concrete. 

This  is  the  spirit  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
put  into  terms  that  are  social  and  economic. 

FRANKLIN  K.  LANE. 


HOW  EDUCATION  PAYS 

BOYS  and  girls  who  go  to  work  when  they  have 
finished  grammar  school  rarely  get  good  jobs. 
The  work  they  find  to  do  is  usually  unskilled;  it  offers 
little  training  or  chance  for  advancement.  When  they 
are  older  they  find  that  they  are  still  untrained  for  the 
skilled  work  that  offers  a  future. 

Many  boys  and  girls,  when  they  leave  school,  find 
work  that  offers  a  high  wage  for  a  beginner.  But  these 
wages  seldom  grow,  because  the  work  requires  no 
training. 

A  position  with  a  future  and  steadily  increasing 
wages  requires  school  training. 

A  table  prepared  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Edu- 
cation compares  the  wages  of  a  group  of  children  who 
left  school  at  fourteen  years  of  age  with  another  group 
who  left  at  eighteen  years  of  age. 

At  twenty-five  years  of  age  the  average  boy  who  had 
remained  in  school  until  eighteen  had  received  over 
$2,000  more  salary  than  the  average  boy  who  left  at 
fourteen,  and  was  then  receiving  over  $900  a  year  more. 

This  is  equivalent  to  an  investment  of  $18,000  at  five 
per  cent.  Can  a  boy  increase  his  capital  as  fast  any 
other  way? 

From  this  time  on  the  salary  of  the  better  educated 
boy  will  rise  still  more  rapidly,  while  the  earnings  of 
the  boy  who  left  school  at  fourteen  will  increase  but 
little. 


8  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

Although  the  wages  paid  now  are  much  higher  than 
when  this  study  was  made,  the  comparison  remains  the 
same* 

"  THE  CHRISTIAN  HERALD/' 


WORK 

Work ! 

Thank  God  for  the  might  of  it, 

The  ardor,  the  urge,  the  delight  of  it; 

Work  that  springs  from  the  heart's  desire, 

Setting  the  brain  and  the  soul  on  fire  — 

Oh,  what  is  so  good  as  the  heat  of  it, 

And  what  is  so  glad  as  the  beat  of  it, 

And  what  is  so  kind  as  the  stern  command, 

Challenging  brain  and  heart  and  hand? 

Work! 

Thank  God  for  the  pride  of  it. 

For  the  beautiful,  conquering  tide  of  it, 

Sweeping  the  life  in  its  furious  flood, 

Thrilling  the  arteries,  cleansing  the  blood, 

Mastering  stupor  and  dull  despair, 

Moving  the  dreamer  to  do  and  dare. 

Oh,  what  is  so  good  as  the  urge  of  it, 

And  what  is  so  glad  as  the  surge  of  it, 

And  what  is  so  strong  as  the  summons  deep, 

Rousing  the  torpid  soul  from  sleep? 

Work! 

Thank  God  for  the  pace  of  it, 
For  the  terrible,  keen  swift  race  of  it  — 
Fiery  steeds  in  full  control, 
9 


10  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

Nostrils  a-quiver  to  greet  the  goal. 
Work,  the  power  that  drives  behind, 
Guiding  the  purposes,  taming  the  mind, 
Holding  the  runaway  wishes  back, 
Reining  the  will  to  one  steady  track, 
Speeding  the  energies  faster,  faster, 
Triumphing  over  disaster. 
Oh,  what  is  so  good  as  the  pain  of  it, 
And  what  is  so  great  as  the  gain  of  it? 
And  what   is  so  kind  as  the  cruel  goad, 
Forcing  us  on  through  the  rugged  road? 

Work! 

Thank  God  for  the  swing  of  it, 

For  the  clamoring,  hammering  ring  of  it  — 

Passion  of  labor  daily  hurled 

On  the  mighty  anvils  of  the  world. 

Oh,  what  is  so  fierce  as  the  flame  of  it? 

And  what  is  so  huge  as  the  aim  of  it? 

Thundering  on  through  dearth  and  doubt, 

Calling  the  plan  of  the  Maker  out. 

Work,  the  Titan !     Work,  the  friend, 

Shaping  the  earth  to  a  glorious  end, 

Draining  the  swamps  and  blasting  the  hills, 

Doing  whatever  the  Spirit  wills  — 

Rending  a  continent  apart, 

To  answer  the  dream  of  the  Master  heart, 

Thank  God  for  a  world  where  none  may  shirk  — 

Thank  God  for  the  splendor  of  work! 

ANGELA  MORGAN  IN  "  THE  OUTLOOK/' 


VOCATIONS 

ASK  yourself,  each  of  you,  "  Why  do  I  plan  to 
work?"  Most  of  you  would  probably  answer, 
"  Because  I  have  to  earn  a  livelihood."  Doubtless 
sheer  necessity  is  the  mother  of  work.  Few  men  can 
keep  from  starving  unless  they  work. 

For  a  large  proportion  of  men,  however,  in  a  civil- 
ized community  there  is  another  motive  that  soon  be- 
gins to  make  itself  felt  —  the  desire  for  gain.  Mere 
livelihood  is  not  enough;  something  more  than  to  have 
the  mere  necessities  of  life  is  the  ambition  of  most  men. 

This  desire  for  gain  takes  many  forms  and  has  many 
degrees.  In  some  men  it  may  become  miserliness,  just 
the  bald  love  of  money.  This  spirit  probably  is  com- 
paratively rare.  For,  just  as  money  itself  is  only  rep- 
resentative of  values,  so  labor  for  money  seeks  not  the 
money  but  what  money  can  buy.  The  wish  for  ease, 
for  comfort,  for  adornment,  for  better  houses,  for 
travel,  for  treasure  —  all  of  these  things  constitute  an 
attractive  goal. 

Others  work  in  the  spirit  of  playing  a  game  (indeed, 
there  are  a  few  who  make  play  a  vocation).  Among 
many  vigorous  workers  there  is  a  certain  restlessness  — 
a  love  of  the  chase,  a  desire  to  throw  stakes,  an  eager- 
ness to  make  new  ventures  —  that  constitutes  the  great 
motive  for  work.  It  is  the  old  spirit  of  the  explorer, 
the  adventurer,  the  pioneer,  the  discoverer,  pushing 

ii 


12  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

ahead,  risking  all  on  the  chance  of  gaining  something 
new,  or  of  merely  having  the  exhilaration  of  the  sport 
itself. 

Then  there  is,  of  course,  in  the  minds  of  many  of  the 
strongest  men  a  love  of  power  that  leads  to  big  work. 
The  mastery  of  men,  the  commanding  of  resources,  the 
overcoming  of  difficulties,  the  recognition  of  strength  — 
all  these  experiences  form  a  tremendous  incentive  to 
work.  One  form  of  this  love  of  power  is  the  desire  to 
excel  others,  which  a  great  French  economist  has  said 
to  be  the  great  civilizer.  Here  is  a  trait  of  human 
nature  at  first  thought  unlovely  in  itself,  and  often  lead- 
ing to  most  despicable  acts;  yet  the  wish  to  have  or  to 
be  or  to  do  something  above  or  beyond  others  unques- 
tionably is  the  root  of  much  of  the  world's  toil. 

Every  serions-nTinded  man  could  probably  answer 
this  question  as  to  why  he  works  by  saying  that  it  is  his 
duty  to  work.  With  Roosevelt  he  would  agree  that  he 
should  "pull  his  own  weight";  he  has  no  right  to  ex- 
pect others  to  drag  him  along  as  if  he  were  an  incom- 
petent. In  its  finer  forms  this  acknowledgment  of  ob- 
ligation idealizes  vocation  as  a  "  calling,1'  a  sacred  call- 
ing possibly,  for  it  springs  out  of  a  passion  for  helpful- 
ness to  one's  fellow  men.  It  is  the  missionary  spirit, 
the  evangelizing  spirit,  the  teaching  spirit,  if  you  please, 
often  the  spirit  of  sacrifice,  urging  men  to  the  severest 
toil. 

Perhaps  the  crowning  personal  motive  in  work  is  the 
creative  instinct  at  its  best.  For  this  motive  gathers  up 
all  the  other  various  elements  —  necessity,  the  desire  of 
gain,  the  spirit  of  the  game,  the  love  of  power,  the  wish 


VOCATIONS  13 

to  excel,  and  the  passion  for  helpfulness  —  and  adds 
either  the  genius  for  artistic  achievement  or  the  organ- 
izing and  executive  power.  In  both  of  these  fields  im- 
agination plays  a  major  part  —  only  men  of  insight  can 
be  creators. 

The  conscious,  deliberate  purpose  to  make  work  a  means 
of  service  and  helpfulness  gains  ground  slowly  but  surely. 
Creative  work,  which  we  have  said  is  the  highest  form 
of  work,  is  at  its  best  when  its  goal  is  human  welfare. 

The  great  choices  of  life  are  made  by  those  whom 
their  elders  often  regard  as  still  immature.  A  man's  re- 
ligion, his  political  party,  his  wife,  his  occupation,  are 
usually  chosen  long  before  judgment  has  been  seasoned 
by  experience;  he  is  governed  by  instinct  and  passion 
rather  than  by  cool  deliberation.  Yet  these  choices  are 
inevitable  and  often  irretrievable.  To  a  remarkable  ex- 
tent they  are  also  sound,  for  they  are  the  outpouring  ex- 
pression of  the  real  personality. 

In  the  main  you  are  restricted  in  your  choice  to  four 
main  occupational  groups : 

The  so-called  "  learned  professions  ''•  -  law,  medicine, 
theology,  teaching,  writing,  art,  science. 

Business. 

Engineering. 

Agriculture. 

The  opportunities  in  each  of  these  fields  are  varied 
innumerable,  and  constantly  increasing  in  both  number 
and  variety.  Each  group  of  occupations  runs  the  gamut 
of  quality  from  shyster  to  philosopher,  and  of  type  or 
characteristic  to  suit  many  tastes  and  capacities.  The 
lawyer  may  be  merely  a  collector  ot'bad  debts  or  he  may 


14  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

be  the  profound  interpreter  of  constitutions.  One  doc- 
tor may  possess  as  his  greatest  asset  a  genial  smile  and 
hearty  hand-clasp;  another  may  stamp  out  terrifying 
plagues.  One  preacher  may  be  the  quiet  pastor,  beloved 
and  helpful ;  another  the  thundering  prophet  who  brings 
public  malefactors  to  judgment.  The  teacher  may  be 
a  scholar  of  renown,  or  the  obscure  but  powerfully  in- 
fluential counselor  and  friend  of  youth.  THe  writer  may 
be  the  purveyor  of  daily  gossip,  or  the  interpreter  of  the 
deep  and  high  moods  and  aspirations  of  humanity.  The 
artist  may  copy  old  masterpieces  or  create  new  ones. 
The  scientist  may  enrich  his  employer  or  open  for  all 
mankind  the  treasures  of  earth  and  sky.  kl  Business  " 
ranges  all  the  way  from  the  corner  grocery  to  the  vast 
and  intricate  commercial  mechanism  with  world-wide  re- 
lationships and  influence.  Engineering  comprises  scores 
of  occupations  necessary  to  the  successful  development  of 
mines,  shops,  mills,  and  railways.  Agriculture,  earliest 
of  the  arts,  last  of  the  professions,  calls  for  a  unique 
range  of  knowledge,  coupled  with  business  acun^n,  man- 
ual skill,  and  love  of  soil  and  of  beast  and  of  growing 
plant. 

Roughly  speaking,  a  young  man  must  choose  from 
one  of  these  four  groups  of  occupations.  There  are,  of 
course,  many  occupations  that  do  not  quite  classify  here, 
—  such  as  many  forms  of  personal  service  and  the  odds 
and  ends  of  work  that  men  are  called  upon  to  do, —  but 
in  the  main  these  are  the  great  vocational  opportunities, 
at  least  for  which  special  training  is  desirable. 

As  a  rule  it  is  a  sad  mistake  for  one  to  enter  upon  a 
vocation  that  he  does  not  like.  In  all  occupations  there 


VOCATIONS  15 

is  a  great  deal  of  drudgery,  and  there  are  a  great  many 
disappointments  and  limitations.  There  are  multitudes 
of  men  who  kick  against  the  pricks,  grow  sour,  advise 
their  sons  and  other  young  men  by  all  means  to  avoid  a 
particular  vocation.  This  perhaps  proves  that  it  is  a 
mistake  to  be  in  an  occupation  that  one  does  not  like. 

It  is  rather  obvious  to  remark  that  ability  to  perform 
work  is  a  requisite  for  good  work.  Ability  or  capacity 
may  be  natural  or  partially  an  acquired  power.  It  is  not 
specific.  Manual  skill  is  equally  essential  in  the  artisan, 
the  artist,  and  the  agriculturist.  Executive  capacity  may 
find  its  outlet  in  business,  or  in  politics,  or  in  college 
work.  The  organizing  talent  gets  results  in  the  pulpit,  in 
daily  journalism,  and  in  labor  leadership,  as  well  as  in 
industrial  management. 

You  will  ask,  "  How  am  I  to  know  my  real  tastes  until 
I  try?  How  am  I  to  know  whether  I  can  do  or  not  do 
until  there  is  the  opportunity?  "  That  is  a  natural  ques- 
tion. There  is  absolutely  no  way  by  which  success  can 
be  guaranteed  except  through  trial.  No  matter  how 
much  experience  the  elders  may  have  had,  no  matter 
how  keen  the  young  man's  observation,  there  is  no  cer- 
tainty that  the  particular  calling  chosen  will  fit  taste  and 
ability.  So  we  have  to  acknowledge  the  place  of  chance 
in  the  successful  choice  of  a  vocation.  One's  personal 
instincts,  the  advice  of  one's  friends,  the  cumulative  evi- 
dence of  what  experience  one  may  have  had  —  all  these 
things  help  to  form  the  judgment  and  decide  the  voca- 
tion. Many  young  men  early  in  life  know  exactly  what 
they  want  to  do  and  follow  their  path  unhesitatingly  ro 
the  end.  For  the  great  majority  of  men  it  is  the  ac- 


16  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

ceptance  of  apparently  chance  opportunity  that  really  de 
termines  the  choice  of  vocation. 

Until  comparatively  recently  the  majority  of  men  pre- 
pared for  their  work  wholly  through  apprenticeship. 
Gradually  schooling  was  added,  first  in  the  learned  pro- 
fessions and  finally  in  all  occupations.  With  the  advent 
of  systematized  instruction  apprenticeship  went  into  the 
background.  It  needs  to  be  revived,  occasionally,  among 
men  who  receive  the  higher  type  of  education.  One  of 
the  most  mischievous  defects  of  our  present  educational 
system  is  the  ineffectiveness  that  comes  from  study  with- 
out its  application.  Preparation  for  vocation,  then,  of 
every  type  and  grade  should  include  an  apprenticeship 
that  brings  the  apprentice  very  close  to  actualities,  gives 
him  touch  with  the  whole  problem,  requires  him  to  handle 
the  tools  of  his  trade  and  experience  the  whole  range  of 
his  activities  as  far  as  this  is  practicable  in  a  short  time. 
Apprenticeship,  let  it  be  said,  is  not  for  the  sake  of  skill, 
but  for  the  attainment  of  insight  and  sympathy,  and  per- 
haps most  of  all  for  the  acquirement  of  that  practical 
sense  that  passes  judgment  accurately  and  easily  upon 
the  nature  and  significance  of  problems  presented  for 
solution. 

So  far  as  schooling  is  concerned,  we  still  have  to  learn 
a  good  deal  about  adequate  preparation  for  a  vocation. 
The  unfortunate  antagonism,  or  apparent  antagonism, 
between  "  education  "  and  the  profession,  between  the 
college  and  the  vocational  courses,  has  resulted  in  many 
misapprehensions.  Vocation  is  often  treated  as  some- 
thing rather  vulgar,  merely  a  "  bread-and-butter  "  affair 


VOCATIONS  17 

— "  culture  "  as  something  sacred  and  apart ;  whereas 
what  we  want  is  the  whole  man  at  work  as  well  as  the 
whole  man  at  leisure.  We  can  provide  adequately  for 
vocational  instruction  only  by  insuring  the  teaching  of 
the  fundamental  principles  of  technic  as  the  solid  founda- 
tion, the  application  of  theory  to  practice  as  the  first 
term  in  effectiveness,  and  skill  in  the  organization  of  the 
factors  or  forces  involved  as  a  basis  of  leadership  in  the 
vocation. 

The  main  problems  of  life  that  a  man  seeks  to  solve 
lie  in  the  realms  of  his  work,  of  his  citizenship,  and  of  his 
personal,  intellectual,  and  moral  life.  Let  us  cease  to 
classify  the  problems  too  sharply.  Let  us  remember  that 
work  should  contribute  both  to  citizenship  and  to  in- 
tellectual growth  and  moral  integrity.  The  man  of 
breadth  of  mind  and  variety  of  tastes  is  usually  more 
truly  effective,  if  not  always  more  immediately  efficient, 
in  his  occupation.  Let  education  for  a  vocation,  then, 
prepare  the  whole  man  for  his  best  work  in  the  occupa- 
tion that  for  him  is  the  best  expression  of  his  tastes,  his 
capacity,  his  desire  to  serve  mankind,  his  power  to  grow. 

Vocation  can  never  rise  to  its  full  stature  until  it  be- 
comes idealized.  Men  must  seek  the  highest  things 
through  their  work,  or  at  least  the  highest  things  that 
work  can  give.  So  there  are  two  aspects  of  vocation  that 
need  particular  emphasis.  The  first  has  already  been 
alluded  to,  and  is  the  thought  of  vocation  as  primarily 
service.  Under  the  inspiration  of  this  motive,  even 
drudgery  may  be  glorified.  And  certainly  all  the  forms 
of  work  that  are  at  all  essential  to  men  may  be  done  in 


i8  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

the  spirit  of  service.  This  does  not  exclude  the  idea  of 
a  just  reward  for  work;  it  does  exclude  the  idea  of 
excessive  profits  and  of  gain  as  the  main  motive. 

The  other  possibility  of  vocation  is  that  of  work  as  a 
means  of  culture.  Most  men  get  what  culture  they  pos- 
sess through  their  work,  not  through  their  leisure.  Their 
knowledge  of  facts,  their  observations  of  men  and  things, 
their  philosophy  of  life,  the  range  of  their  reading,  their 
social  contacts,  are  made  either  directly  or  indirectly  by 
their  work.  Nearly  all  of  their  associations  are  de- 
pendent upon  their  vocation,  or  at  any  rate  upon  their 
relation  to  their  vocation. 

The  true  social  meaning  of  one's  vocation  is  its  in- 
fluence upon  human  welfare.  The  power  of  vocation  to 
contribute  to  intellectual  growth,  spiritual  insight,  and 
appreciation  of  all  things  created  by  God  or  by  man,  is 
its  measure  of  culture  value. 

The  great  possibilities  of  vocation,  therefore,  lie  in 
these  two  directions  —  that  of  making  the  occupation  as 
serviceable  as  possible  to  other  men,  and  of  so  treating  it 
that  it  becomes  a  source  of  personal  power  and  apprecia- 
tion. 

But  vocation  has  its  limitations.  The  lower  motives 
may  prevail  and  stunt  character.  Greed  and  pride  and 
the  love  of  ease  may  so  dominate  the  work  of  life  that 
the  soul  shrivels.  Pressure  of  time  and  infinite  special- 
ization of  toil  may  narrow  thought,  circumscribe  inter- 
ests, stifle  culture.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  men  need 
leisure  as  a  foil  to  work. 

Of  the  various  aspects  of  leisure,  all  of  which  are  not 
always  emphasized,  there  must  first  of  all  be  leisure  for 


VOCATIONS  19 

relaxation  —  for  sheer  rest.  Most  Americans  do  not 
know  how  to  relax.  It  is  a  national  blunder  and  may 
become  a  national  crime.  Even  in  the  interests  of  effec- 
tiveness, it  is  necessary  to  relax.  But  there  is  the  more 
positive  form  of  leisure  found  in  recreation,  where  the 
activities  are  taken  away  from  the  ordinary  work  of  life 
and  directed  to  something  else.  It  may  be  an  avocation, 
it  may  be  sport  or  game,  but  it  serves  to  recreate  through 
a  change  of  activity.  Both  relaxation  and  recreation  are 
vital  to  complete  fitness. 

There  is  another  form  of  leisure  —  a  sort  of  hybrid 
between  relaxation  and  recreation.  For  we  need  leisure 
also  for  growth,  the  growth  that  comes  from  thinking  — 
yes,  from  thinking  things  through.  Meditation  is  almost 
a  lost  art.  We  jump  at  conclusions.  We  flit  from  one 
book  to  another.  The  daily  journal  is  our  literature. 
We  are  tremendously  active,  but  we  do  not  give  ourselves 
a  chance  to  grow.  Activity  breaks  down  tissues ;  we 
must  give  new  tissues  a  chance  to  be  made.  Nature  man- 
ages better.  She  rests  during  the  winter  in  order  that 
-spring  may  bring  the  flood  of  life  and  vitality.  So 
growth  of  mind  and  spirit  —  induced,  let  us  say  again, 
largely  by  the  work  of  life  —  comes  to  its  fruition  best 
in  the  leisure  of  life.  Work  gives  power.  Leisure 
brings  appreciation,  which  is  the  crown  of  culture.  Let 
no  worker  be  denied  appreciation  of  the  finest  things  of 
the  human  mind  and  spirit,  appreciation  of  art,  of  litera- 
ture, of  nature,  appreciation  of  the  achievements  of  man- 
kind and  of  the  higher  motives  of  human  goodness.  All 
these  have  their  rootage  in  work  and  their  flower  in 
human  association. 


20  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

But  it  is  not  mere  sentiment  that  gives  us  the  chance 
to  glorify  work.  After  all,  it  is  through  work  that  man 
comes  to  his  best  estate.  It  is  only  thus  that  he  can  be 
truly  effective;  it  is  only  so  that  he  gets  results.  The 
solving  of  problems  is  the  great  vocation.  Usefulness, 
service,  helpfulness  to  others  to  solve  their  problems, 
make  society  a  scheme  of  mutual  aid  and  make  possible 
the  great  hope  of  common  endeavor  for  the  good  of  all. 
If  to  the  effectiveness  of  the  problem-solver  and  the  spirit 
of  service  may  be  added  friendliness  rather  than  fighting 
as  the  mood  of  work,  we  have  compassed  the  great  possi- 
bilities of  vocation. 

Dr.  KENYON  L.  BUTTERFIELD. 


PART  II 
VOCATIONS  FOR  BOYS 


FITTING  THE  MAN  TO  THE  JOB 

HOW  many  people  who  read  these  lines  are  satis- 
fied that  they  are  filling  their  appropriate  place  in 
the  world?  How  many  believe  that  they  are  doing  the 
particular  work  for  which  their  talents  and  inclinations 
fit  them?  How  many  feel  that  there  are  other  things 
which,  if  they  were  once  given  a  chance,  they  could  do 
much  better?  How  many  believe  that  their  careers  are 
the  result  of  a  well  ordered,  thought-out  scheme,  and  how 
many  realize  that  their  present  occupation  is  pure  acci- 
dent ?  The  man  who  is  doing  the  thing  that  he  planned 
as  a  boy  or  young  man  is  the  rarest  phenomenon.  The 
human  being  who  can  deliberately  set  his  goal  and  ad- 
vance unwaveringly  toward  it  has  determination,  almost 
genius,  of  a  high  order.  Every  one  of  us  has  some  one 
thing  that  he  can  do  better  than  anything  else;  in  some 
one  undiscovered  particular  we  are  all  supermen.  How 
many  of  us  are  doing  that  one  thing? 

Questions  like  these,  which  most  people  constantly  ask 
themselves,  are  now  assuming  a  practical  importance  in 
industry.  The  healthy  discontent  that  leads  the  average 
citizen  to  quarrel  with  his  lot  seldom  assumes  the  propor- 
tions of  a  tragedy;  but  there  are  millions  of  flesh-and- 
blood  ghosts  who  haunt  the  purlieus  of  modern  enter- 
prise —  men  and  women  who  never  seem  to  find  an  eco- 
nomic affinity.  American  industry  is  now  searching  its 
heart  in  the  interest  of  these  industrial  waifs.  To  what 

23 


24  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

extent  are  the  manufacturer  and  business  men  themselves 
responsible  for  the  misfit?  To  what  extent  does  the  mis- 
fit present  the  possibility  of  cure?  The  latest  develop- 
ment of  scientific  management  is  its  attempt  to  solve  this 
problem,  to  use  profitably  the  vast  amount  of  human  ma- 
terial that  is  constantly  going  to  waste. 

Drifting,  not  steering,  is  apparently  the  principle  that 
regulates  most  lives.  A  glance  into  any  office  or  factory 
discloses  the  wildest  inconsistencies.  Men  physically 
frail  are  trying  to  do  heavy  manual  work  simply  because 
they  lack  the  mental  training  to  do  something  else.  Big, 
beefy  men,  deliberate  and  judicial  in  temperament,  who 
might  do  well  as  butchers,  are  trying  to  fill  executive  posi- 
tions. There  are  others  tingling  with  activity  whom  fate 
has  chained  down  to  sedentary  jobs.  Good  fortune  has 
placed  others,  who  might  have  done  well  as  doorkeepers, 
in  positions  of  authority. 

There  are  men  who  haven't  the  industry  to  qualify  for 
mental  work,  but  who  are  too  proud  to  earn  a  living  with 
their  hands.  There  are  others  who  are  full  of  ambition 
for  commercial  success,  but  who  display  a  hopeless  im- 
practicability at  every  turn.  Men  aspire  to  literary  fame 
who  are  too  lazy  mentally  to  learn  the  rules  of  grammar 
and  punctuation.  Proud  parents  make  doctors  and  law- 
yers of  boys  who  could  have  had  useful  careers  as  farm- 
ers. Plenty  of  school-teachers  ought  to  be  wearing 
overalls.  There  are  thousands  of  clerks,  salesmen,  and 
other  members  of  the  "  white-collar  "  squad  who  could 
have  done  splendidly  as  carpenters  and  bricklayers. 

Every  office  has  detail  men  doing  executive  work  and 
executive  men  doing  detail  work.  No  one  has  studied 


FITTING  THE  MAN  TO  THE  JOB      25 

—  they  themselves  least  of  all  —  the  inclinations  and 
abilities  of  men ;  no  one  knows  why  they  fail.  The 
foreman  puts  a  man  at  a  skilled  job  who  is  really  only 
capable  of  handling  pig-iron.  He  sets  a  girl  with  de- 
fective eyes  working  at  a  task  that  demands  the  keenest 
vision.  Because  she  fails,  the  foreman  "  fires  her  "  ; 
had  he  merely  called  in  an  oculist,  she  would  have  been 
transformed  into  an  efficient  employee.  Mr.  C.  B. 
Lord,  general  superintendent  of  the  Wagner  Electric 
and  Manufacturing  Company,  believes  that  eighty  per 
cent,  of  these  failures  are  really  ambitious  to  make 
good;  they  fail  simply  because  there  is  no  intelligent 
effort  made  to  utilize  them. 

One  of  the  largest  manufacturing  concerns  in  New 
York  State  recently  gave  every  employee  a  physical  ex- 
amination. The  results  were  fairly  astounding.  Deaf 
girls  were  serving  as  telephone  operators.  Men  with 
heart  disease  were  doing  work  that  required  them  con- 
stantly to  go  up  and  down  ladders.  Others  with  high 
blood-pressure  were  employed  in  the  heaviest  tasks. 
Workmen  with  deficient  muscular  coordination  were 
blundering  along  with  jobs  requiring  the  finest  manual 
skill.  And  this  examination  touched  only  the  most  ob- 
vious physical  qualities.  If  the  investigators  had  pos- 
sessed instruments  that  could  record  mental  aptitudes, 
one  can  only  imagine  what  absurdities  they  would  have 
disclosed. 

The  fact  that  there  are  scattered  instances  in  which 
the  misfit,  after  floating  around  for  several  years,  sud- 
denly discovers  his  vocation,  shows  that  the  situation  is 
not  hopeless.  Nearly  everybody  can  remember  cases  of 
this  kind.  One  of  our  greatest  advertising  men  made  his 


26  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

beginning  in  life  as  an  unsuccessful  preacher.  An  em- 
inent efficiency  engineer  spent  several  unhappy  prelim- 
inary years  as  a  college  professor. 

I  know  a  man  whose  father  insisted  that  he  become  a 
lawyer.  He  failed  at  this,  took  to  drink,  and  was  rapidly 
qualifying  for  the  scrap-heap.  His  natural  liking  was 
for  the  open-air,  and  the  closed  atmosphere  of  a  lawyer's 
office  simply  stifled  all  his  energies.  Some  one  advised 
him  to  buy  a  fruit  farm.  He  did  so.  He  became  ab- 
sorbed in  the  work  and  developed  great  earning  capacity. 

Another  old  misfit  is  now  the  vice-president  of  a  large 
automobile  company.  Ten  years  ago  he  was  a  member 
of  the  "  floating  "  class,  puttering  away  at  the  job  of  an 
unskilled  laborer.  The  man  really  had  great  executive 
and  financial  ability ;  only  the  barest  chance  put  him  in 
the  way  of  utilizing  it.  Though  every  one  can  recall 
instances  of  this  kind,  what  we  don't  always  recognize  is 
that  these  are  sporadic  cases  —  a  few  instances  of  misfits 
who  have  accidentally  been  steered  in  the  right  direction. 
But  the  great  majority  are  submerged. 

"What  was  your  first  job?"  an  employer  recently 
asked  one  of  these. 

"  My  first  job  was  several  places  "  —  an  answer  that 
went  deep  into  this  great  social  problem. 

"  I  can't  touch  that  machine  again!  "  a  man  once  said, 
appealingly,  to  his  foreman.  "  I  am  afraid  of  it.  I 
shall  spoil  some  of  the  goods,  injure  some  of  my  fellow 
workmen,  or  hurt  myself."  He  was  a  sober,  industrious 
person,  and  the  firm  concluded  that  he  needed  a  vacation. 
When  he  went  back  to  the  old  machine,  however,  he  broke 
down  again.  The  man  was  simply  a  misfit.  His  talents 


FITTING  THE  MAN  TO  THE     JOB     27 

were  executive,  not  mechanical.  He  was  tried  as  a  sub- 
boss  ;  he  now  holds  an  important  managerial  office,  earn- 
ing ten  times  the  pay  of  the  old  position.  Only  the  acci- 
dental thought  fulness  of  his  employer  enabled  this  man 
to  discover  the  thing  that  he  could  do. 

But  many  industrial  establishments  are  now  attempting 
to  reduce  employment  to  a  science.  The  central  idea  is 
to  use  such  talents  as  a  man  possesses.  The  great  mod- 
ern quest  is  to  get  greater  efficiency  out  of  the  efficient 
and  to  get  efficiency  out  of  the  thousands  hitherto  cast 
aside  as  inefficient.  Twentieth-century  industrialism  has 
finally  attacked  its  greater  problem  —  how  to  use  all  that 
is  in  its  human  material  "  except  the  squeal." 

Great  industrial  plants,  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  are 
now  establishing  employment  departments.  In  the  old 
days,  the  foreman  had  the  privilege  of  "  hiring  and  fir- 
ing." It  was  a  prerogative  that  he  jealously  guarded. 
However,  he  seldom  performed  his  duty  with  much  skill 
or  intelligence.  He  was  notoriously  a  person  of  likes 
and  dislikes.  He  had  no  system,  beyond  a  few  crudely 
asked  questions ;  appraising  human  nature  was  not  usually 
his  strongest  point.  Prejudice  entered  largely  into  his 
choice  of  underlings.  Not  infrequently  he  was  venal,  de- 
manding a  bribe  as  a  prerequisite  to  giving  a  job,  and  se- 
curing pay  increases  on  condition  that  he  obtain  a  per- 
centage. But  this  old-fashioned  foreman  is  rapidly  los- 
ing his  power.  In  hundreds  of  our  largest  establish- 
ments he  now  does  no  "  hiring  or  firing  "  at  all. 

The  modern  employment  superintendent  has  succeeded 
this  functionary.  This  office,  usually  having  a  large 
staff,  passes  candidates  for  all  positions  through  its  hands. 


28  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

Foremen,  when  they  need  steel,  iron,  or  other  material, 
make  out  written  requisitions;  now,  in  the  places  having 
up-to-date  employment  departments,  they  do  the  same 
thing  for  their  materials  of  brain  and  muscle.  The  em- 
ployment superintendent's  business  is  to  supply  precisely 
the  kind  of  men  and  women  needed  to  do  the  particular 
work.  If  the  person  sent  does  not  fill  the  bill,  the  fore- 
man can  refuse  him;  the  employment  department  sends 
another  man,  and  then  sends  the  rejected  person  some- 
where else,  where  his  services  seem  more  clearly  indi- 
cated. 

The  employment  department  thus  performs  two  func- 
tions:  first,  it  studies  the  requirements  of  the  shop;  sec- 
ondly, it  studies  minutely  the  miscellaneous  human  beings 
who  offer  themselves  at  its  doors.  Its  theory  is  that 
every  person  can  do  something.  It  submits  all  of  its  ap- 
plicants to  physical  and  mental  tests,  canvasses  their  past 
successes  and  failures,  learns  their  habits,  their  ambi- 
tions, their  aptitudes.  With  the  aid  of  a  competent  med- 
ical man,  it  examines  their  eyes,  noses,  throats,  teeth, 
hearts,  lungs,  and  digestive  systems.  After  the  em- 
ployee is  once  engaged,  the  department's  work  has  really 
only  begun.  It  receives  periodical  reports;  if  the  man 
is  not  doing  well,  it  finds  out  why;  and  it  makes  a  point 
of  shifting  him  around  until  he  finds  his  appointed  place. 

One  of  the  greatest  of  American  establishments,  located 
in  Ohio,  begins  sorting  out  its  employees  long  before  they 
have  entered  the  plant.  It  works  in  association  with 
the  grammar  and  high  schools,  which  have  arranged  par- 
ticular courses  intended  to  fit  boys  and  girls  for  particu- 
lar places  in  this  great  industry.  In  this  way,  long  be- 


FITTING  THE  MAN  TO  THE     JOB     29 

fore  the  time  arrives  to  go  on  the  pay-roll,  the  employ- 
ment department  has  learned  just  what  these  prospective 
employees  can  do,  and,  after  graduation,  can  immediately 
place  them  where  they  belong. 

For  important  office  positions  the  department  has  a 
special  arrangement.  It  selects  a  number  of  boys,  in  the 
junior  and  senior  years  of  the  high  school,  who  seem  espe- 
cially promising.  These  boys  attend  school,  and,  as  part 
of  their  school  work,  also  spend  certain  hours  in  the 
factory  office.  Here  they  are  tried  out,  in  one  position 
after  another,  until  their  finest  aptitudes  manifest  them- 
selves. As  soon  as  they  are  graduated,  therefore,  they 
at  once  step  into  a  good  position  which  there  is  every 
assurance  that  they  can  fill.  Here,  certainly,  is  an  ex- 
treme instance  of  fitting  people  to  their  jobs. 

Many  employers  adopt  this  system  of  pre-education, 
though  not  to  the  same  degree.  But  most  of  them  are 
beginning  to  have  greater  respect  for  the  sanctity  of  a 
job.  A  man  once  entered  on  the  pay-roll  has  peculiar 
claims  upon  their  forbearance.  One  of  the  greatest  prov- 
ocations to  inefficiency  is  the  overhanging  worry  of  los- 
ing one's  job.  Nearly  all  human  beings  work  to  the  best 
purpose  when  they  are  once  assured  that  every  effort  will 
be  made  to  use  them  in  some  way.  So  the  custom  is 
rapidly  spreading  of  shifting  an  unsuccessful  employee 
until  he  finds  his  place.  If  he  fails  at  one  job,  he  is  put  to 
work  at  another.  No  man  is  "  fired  "  until  he  has  had 
abundant  chance  to  prove  that  he  can  do  something. 

In  one  of  the  greatest  plants  in  the  Middle  West,  em- 
ploying twenty  thousand  men  and  women,  "  firing  "  has 
virtually  ceased.  No  foreman  or  sub-officer  can  perform 


30  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

this  solemn  ceremony.  No  man  is  ousted  until  one  of  the 
four  highest  executives  —  the  president,  the  vice-presi- 
dent, and  two  others  —  has  gone  over  the  case  and  pro- 
nounced it  hopeless.  Any  employee  threatened  with  such 
treatment  can  appeal  in  person  to  one  of  the  executives. 
I  could  mention  many  great  industrial  organizations 
—  manufactories,  department-stores,  mail-order  houses, 
printing  and  publishing  establishments,  and  the  like  — 
that  have  adopted  this  new  attitude  toward  the  poor 
man's  only  possession  —  his  job.  And  nearly  all  ex- 
press their  satisfaction  with  the  experiment.  They  fur- 
nish plenty  of  illustrations  that  show  its  wisdom.  Here, 
for  example,  is  a  foreman  who  shows  signs  of  rheuma- 
tism. "  He  is  useless,"  the  old  school  would  have  said; 
"  it 's  too  bad,  but  he  must  go !  "  Now  the  company  doc- 
tor makes  an  examination  and  finds  that  he  is  merely 
flat-footed.  He  is  received  by  properly-fitting  shoes, 
and  does  twice  as  much  work  as  before.  Under  the  old 
conditions,  he  would  have  "  floated  "  about,  through  no 
fault  of  his  own,  and  degenerated  into  a  misfit. 

Here  is  a  girl  wrho  started  work  feeding  a  machine. 
She  failed.  The  old-fashioned  shop  would  have  told  her 
to  "  get  her  time."  Why  waste  efforts  on  a  demon- 
strated incompetent?  But  the  modern  system  tried  her 
at  light  clerical  work.  Again  she  failed.  She  was  put 
to  work  figuring  elapsed  time  on  tickets.  Once  more  she 
proved  a  disappointment.  She  was  next  called  upon  to 
inspect  finished  books, —  it  was  in  a  printing  shop, —  and 
this  turned  out  to  be  the  very  thing  that  Heaven  ordained 
her  to  do.  She  simply  loved  her  new  work,  and  became 
an  asset  to  the  company. 


FITTING  THE  MAN  TO  THE     JOB      31 

Another  girl  started  feeding  a  gathering-machine,  but 
conspicuously  lacked  ability  or  interest  in  her  work. 
Then  she  tried  her  hand  on  a  sewing-machine,  and 
caught  the  trick ;  she  is  now  an  especially  valued  "  hand." 

A  stenographer  began  work  in  an  accounting  depart- 
ment, but  made  unsatisfactory  progress.  She  tried  the 
same  work  in  another  department,  and  failed  again. 
After  several  experiences  of  this  kind  the  employment 
department  despaired  of  her.  But  there  was  some  mys- 
tery in  the  matter :  she  possessed  all  the  technique  of  her 
art,  but  still  made  no  progress.  Accidentally  she  was 
placed  in  a  department  where  she  had  little  supervision 
and  had  to  assume  a  good  deal  of  responsibility.  The 
mystery  was  solved.  In  the  previous  departments  she 
had  constantly  worked  under  a  superior,  and  the  con- 
stant oversight  unnerved  her.  She  was  one  of  the  nu- 
merous people  who  "  work  best  when  left  alone." 
Under  the  new  conditions  she  developed  really  brilliant 
qualities. 

The  employment  department  put  another  girl  to  work 
inspecting;  when  she  failed  at  this,  it  tried  her  at  filing. 
This  didn't  work,  either.  She  then  tried  her  hand  at  the 
telephone,  and  make  a  bad  mess  of  it.  She  then  obtained 
a  job  whose  chief  requirement  was  the  accurate  handling 
of  figures.  That  was  the  one  thing  that  she  did  beau- 
tifully. 

Here  is  a  man  who,  after  failing  in  several  jobs,  was 
placed  on  a  cutting-machine,  with  deplorable  results. 
The  employment  department  looked  him  over  again  and 
decided  to  try  him  in  the  stock  department.  From  the 
first  moment  in  this  new  place  he  made  a  success. 


32  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

And  so  it  goes.  The  employment  department  can  give 
thousands  of  instances  of  the  kind.  All  these  people, 
under  the  old  system,  would  have  joined  the  perambulat- 
ing classes.  A  little  effort  at  selection  transformed  them 
into  useful  workers. 

BURTON  J.  HENDRICK. 


A  WOULD-BE  DOCTOR 

A  BOY  of  nineteen  said  he  wanted  to  be  a  doctor. 
He  was  sickly  looking,  small,  thin,  hollow-cheeked, 
with  listless  eye  and  expressionless  face.  He  did  not 
smile  once  during  the  interview  of  more  than  an  hour. 
He  shook  hands  like  a  wet  stick.  His  voice  was  husky 
and  unpleasant,  and  his  conversational  power,  aside  from 
answering  direct  questions,  seemed  limited  to  "  ss-uh," 
an  aspirate  "  Yes,  sir/'  consisting  of  a  prolonged  ^  fol- 
lowed by  a  non-vocal  uh,  made  by  suddenly  dropping  the 
lower  jaw  and  exploding  the  breath  without  bringing  the 
vocal  cords  into  action.  He  used  this  aspirate  "  Yes, 
sir  "  constantly,  to  indicate  assent  or  that  he  heard  what 
the  Counselor  said. 

He  had  been  through  the  grammar  school  and  the  eve- 
ning high.  He  was  not  good  in  any  of  his  studies,  nor 
especially  interested  in  any.  His  memory  was  poor.  He 
fell  down  on  all  the  tests  for  mental  power.  He  had  read 
virtually  nothing  outside  of  school  except  the  newspapers. 
He  had  no  resources  and  very  few  friends.  He  was  not 
tidy  in  his  appearance,  nor  in  any  way  attractive.  He 
knew  nothing  about  a  doctor's  life;  not  even  that  he 
might  have  to  get  up  at  any  time  in  the  middle  of  the 
night,  or  that  he  had  to  remember  books  full  of  symptoms 
and  remedies. 

The  boy  had  no  enthusiasms,  interests,  or  ambitions 

33 


34  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

except  the  one  consuming  ambition  to  be  something  that 
people  would  respect,  and  he  thought  he  could  accomplish 
that  purpose  by  becoming  a  physician  more  easily  than 
in  any  other  way. 

When  the  study  was  complete  and  the  young  man's  rec- 
ord was  before  him,  the  Counselor  said: 

"  Now,  we  must  be  very  frank  with  each  other.  That 
is  the  only  way  such  talks  can  be  of  any  value.  You 
\vant  me  to  tell  you  the  truth  just  as  I  see  it,  don't  you? 
That 's  why  you  came  to  me,  is  n't  it  ?  —  not  for  flattery, 
but  for  a  frank  talk  to  help  you  understand  yourself  and 
your  possibilities. 

"  Ss-uh." 

"  Don't  you  think  a  doctor  should  be  well  and  strong  ? 
Doesn't  he  need  vigorous  health  to  stand  the  irregular 
hours,  night  calls,  exposure  to  contagious  diseases,  etc.  ?  " 

"  Ss-uh." 

"  And  you  are  not  strong." 

"  Ss-uh."  (This  was  repeated  after  almost  every  sen- 
tence of  the  Counselor's  remarks,  but  will  be  omitted  here 
for  the  sake  of  condensation.) 

"  And  you  have  n't  the  pleasant  manners  a  doctor  ought 
to  have.  You  have  not  smiled  or  shown  any  expressive- 
ness in  your  face  the  whole  time  you  have  been  answering 
my  questions,  and  telling  me  about  your  life  and  record. 
Your  hand  was  moist  and  unpleasant  when  you  shook 
hands.  And  you  put  your  fingers  in  my  hand  without 
any  pressure  or  show  of  interest.  I  might  as  well  have 
shaken  hands  with  a  stick."  (The  Counselor's  criticisms 
were  very  frank  and  forceful;  but  he  smiled  at  the  boy 
as  he  spoke,  and  his  tones  were  gentle  and  sympathetic, 


A  WOULD-BE  DOCTOR  35 

so  that  the  young  man  was  not  offended  or  repelled,  but 
seemed  attracted  and  pleased,  on  the  whole,  by  the  frank 
and  kindly  interest  of  the  Counselor  in  his  welfare.) 

"  You  might  cultivate  a  cordial  smile,  a  friendly  hand- 
shake, and  winning  manners,  and  you  ought  to  develop 
good  manners  no  matter  what  business  you  follow ;  but 
it  will  take  much  time  and  effort,  for  manners  do  not 
come  natural  to  you. 

"  You  should  cultivate  your  voice  and  use  smooth, 
clear  tones  with  life  in  them.  Your  voice  is  listless, 
husky,  and  unpleasant  now. 

"  And  read  good,  solid  books,  history,  economics,  gov- 
ernment, etc.,  and  talk  about  them.  Develop  your  con- 
versational power.  At  present  you  do  not  even  seem 
able  to  say,  'Yes,  sir/. distinctly. 

"  You  want  to  win  respect,  to  be  something  your  fel- 
low men  will  admire.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  be  a 
doctor  in  order  to  be  respectable.  Any  man  who  lives  a 
useful  life,  does  his  work  well,  takes  care  of  his  family, 
is  a  good  citizen,  and  lives  a  clean,  true,  kindly,  helpful 
life,  will  be  respected  and  loved,  whether  he  is  a  farmer, 
carpenter,  lawyer,  doctor,  blacksmith,  teamster,  clerk,  or 
factory  worker. 

"  People  will  respect  a  carpenter  who  knows  his  busi- 
ness and  does  his  work  well  a  good  deal  more  than  they 
will  a  doctor  who  doesn't  know  his  business.  It  is  a 
question  of  fitness,  knowledge,  skill,  and  usefulness.  A 
bad  doctor  is  one  of  the  least  respectable  of  men.  Think 
of  the  blunders  he  is  likely  to  make,  the  people  he  is 
likely  to  kill  or  injure  through  wrong  medicines  or  lack 
of  skill  in  diagnosis  or  treatment." 


36  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

The  Counselor  then  painted  two  word-pictures  sub- 
stantially as  follows : 

"  Suppose  two  men  are  trying  to  build  up  a  medical 
practice.  One  is  tall,  fine-looking,  strong  and  healthy, 
with  a  winning  smile,  a  cordial  way  of  shaking  hands,  a 
pleasant  voice,  and  engaging  manners.  He  is  bright, 
cheery,  wholesome.  People  like  to  have  him  visit  them. 
His  presence  in  the  sickroom  is  a  tonic  worth  as  much  as 
the  medicine  he  gives.  He  has  a  good  education ;  has 
read  a  lot  of  good  books;  keeps  posted  in  the  leading 
magazines  and  understands  the  public  questions  of  the 
day,  so  he  can  talk  to  all  sorts  of  people  about  the  things 
that  interest  them.  He  has  a  good  memory,  so  he  can 
carry  in  his  mind  the  volumes  of  symptoms  and  medical 
data  a  doctor  ought  to  know,  and  can  tell  a  case  of  small- 
pox, scarlet  fever,  diphtheria,  or  other  disease,  without 
running  back  to  his  office  to  study  the  books.  He  has 
friends  to  help  him  get  patients,  and  money  enough  to  live 
in  good  style  three  or  four  years  while  he  is  building  up  a 
practice. 

'  The  other  man  is  small,  thin,  hollow-cheeked,  sickly- 
looking,  with  a  poor  memory,  little  education,  virtually 
no  reading,  no  resources,  undeveloped  manners,  a  husky, 
unpleasant  voice,  no  conversational  ability  —  nothing  to 
attract  people  or  inspire  their  confidence,  and  with  mental 
handicaps  that  would  make  it  very  difficult  for  him  to 
master  the  profession.  No  memory  to  hold  the  book- 
fuls  of  symptoms  and  remedies  —  the  patient  might  die 
while  he  was  going  back  to  the  office  to  study  up  what 
was  the  matter. 


A  WOULD-BE  DOCTOR  37 

"  Which  of  these  two  men  would  have  the  best  chance 
of  success?  " 

"  The  first  one." 

"And  which  most  closely  resembles  your  own  case?" 

"  The  second." 

"  Do  you  really  think,  then,  that  you  would  have  a  good 
chance  to  make  a  success  of  the  medical  profession?  " 

"  I  don't  know  as  I  would.  I  never  thought  of  it  this 
way  before.  I  just  knew  it  was  a  good  business,  highly 
respected,  and  that's  what  I  wanted." 

"  But  there  may  be  other  highly  respectable  lines  of 
work  in  which  you  would  not  be  at  so  great  a  disad- 
vantage. 

"  Suppose  a  lot  of  races  were  to  be  run.  In  some  of 
them  you  would  have  to  run  with  a  heavy  iron  ball,  tied 
round  your  leg,  while  others  ran  free.  In  other  races 
you  would  run  free  as  well  as  the  rest  of  them,  and  have 
something  like  a  fair  chance.  Which  sort  of  race  would 
you  enter?  " 

"'I  'd  rather  run  free,  of  course." 

"  Well,  your  hands  appear  to  be  just  as  good  as  any- 
body's. You  can  exercise  care  and  industry.  You  can 
remember  a  few  things,  and  can  be  successful  if  you  don't 
attempt  too  much.  If  you  go  out  into  some  sort  of  work 
where  you  won't  have  to  meet  as  many  people  as  a  doctor 
must,  or  remember  such  a  vast  mass  of  facts, —  something 
where  the  memory  and  the  personal  element  will  not  be 
such  important  factors,  so  that  your  handicap  in  those 
respects  will  not  cripple  you, —  you  may  run  the  race  on 
fairly  equal  terms  and  have  a  good  chance  of  success. 


38  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

Some  mechanical  or  manufacturing  industry,  wholesale 
trade  where  you  would  handle  stock,  care  of  poultry, 
sheep,  cows,  or  other  outdoor  work,  would  offer  you 
good  opportunities  and  be  better  for  your  health  than  the 
comparatively  sedentary  and  irregular  life  of  a  physician. 

"  I  suggest  that  you  visit  stock  and  dairy  farms,  car- 
penter shops,  shoe  factories,  wholesale  stores,  etc.,  see  a 
good  many  industries  in  the  lines  I  have  spoken  of,  read 
about  them,  talk  with  the  workmen  and  managers,  try 
your  hand  if  you  can  at  various  sorts  of  work,  and  make 
up  your  mind  whether  there  is  not  some  business  that 
will  interest  you  and  offer  you  a  fairly  equal  opportunity 
free  from  the  special  handicaps  you  would  have  to  over- 
come in  professional  life." 

The  Counselor  also  made  specific  suggestions  about  the 
cultivation  of  memory  and  manners,  and  a  systematic 
course  of  reading  and  study  to  prepare  for  citizenship, 
and  to  develop  economic  power  and  social  understanding 
and  usefulness  that  would  entitle  the  young  man  to  the 
esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens. 

As  the  youth  rose  to  go,  he  wiped  his  hand  so  it  would 
be  dry  as  he  shook  hands  with  some  warmth  and  thanked 
the  Counselor  for  his  suggestions,  which  he  said  he  would 
try  to  follow.  He  smiled  for  the  first  time  as  he  said 
this,  and  the  Counselor,  noting  it,  said : 

'  There !  You  can  smile.  You  can  light  up  your  face 
if  you  choose.  Now,  learn  to  do  it  often.  Practise 
speaking  before  the  glass  till  you  get  your  face  so  that  it 
will  move  and  not  stay  in  one  position  all  the  evening  like 
a  plaster  mask.  And  try  to  stop  saying  '  Ss-uh.'  When 
you  want  to  say  '  Yes,  sir,'  say  it  distinctly  in  a  clear, 


A  WOULD-BE  DOCTOR  39 

manly  tone,  and  not  under  your  breath  like  a  steam-valve 
on  an  engine.  A  good  many  times  when  you  say  '  Ss-uh  ' 
it  is  n't  necessary  to  say  anything,  and  the  rest  of  the 
time  you  should  say  '  Yes,  sir/  or  make  some  definite 
comment  in  a  clear  voice  full  of  life  and  interest.  Watch 
other  people,  and  imitate  those  you  admire,  and  avoid  the 
things  that  repel  or  displease  you  in  people  you  do  not 
like." 

"Ss-uh  —  yes,  sir,"  said  the  boy,  with  another  faint 
smile,  "  I'll  try."  And  he  was  gone. 

He  told  another  young  man  a  few  days  later  that  the 
Professor  said  he  would  go  through  him  with  a  lantern, 
and  he  had  certainly  done  it,  and  he  was  glad  of  it,  for 
he  learned  more  about  himself  that  evening  than  in  all 
his  life  before,  and  though  part  of  it  was  like  taking 
medicine  all  the  time,  it  was  all  right,  and  he  knew  it 
would  help  him  a  great  deal. 

FRANK  PARSONS,  PH.D. 


SCHOOLS  WHERE  BOYS  LEARN  TO  EARN 
A  LIVING 

!'f  •  AHE  purpose  of  the  vocational  schools  of  New  York 
A  City  is  to  train  boys,  really  and  practically,  for 
citizenship  —  able  and  interested  citizenship,"  said 
George  J.  Loewy,  a  school  principal.  "  People  say  that 
the  draft  examinations  showed  a  general  lack  of  physical 
development  among  our  boys,  and  a  lack  of  mechanical 
training  as  well.  The  aim  of  these  schools  is  to  give 
boys  those  two  things,  and  at  the  same  time  to  educate 
them  in  patriotism  and  an  interested  understanding  of 
American  life,  institutions,  and  ideals.  Many  of  our 
boys  in  the  electrical  department  are  preparing  to  go  into 
the  signal  service  at  the  navy  yard.  But  the  best  of  our 
work  is  that  we  are  giving  our  boys  a  practical  education 
that  is  making  alert  and  capable  Americans  of  them  all." 
The  Murray  Hill  Vocational  School  was  established  in 
1914,  a  Brooklyn  branch  a  year  later. 

Boys  enter  the  vocational  schools  at  fourteen  or  fifteen, 
when  they  are  graduated  from  grammar  schools,  and  in 
two  years  are  ready  to  enter  their  chosen  trades  as  ad- 
vanced apprentices.  Every  graduate  thus  far  has  been 
employed  at  once.  The  school  keeps  a  "  follow-up  rec- 
ord." It  has  more  offers  of  good  positions  than  it  has 
graduates  to  fill  them.  No  graduate  takes  a  position  at 
less  than  ten  dollars  a  week  at  the  start.  The  graduates 

40 


SCHOOLS  WHERE  BOYS  LEARN        41 

of  the  last  two  years  are  now  employed  at  wages  up  to 
fifty-four  dollars  a  week. 

The  course  of  study  changes  with  changing  conditions. 
It  is  one  of  the  basic  ideas  of  the  system  that  it  must  be 
flexible.  Each  boy,  on  entering,  chooses  some  branch  of 
vocational  work,  and  receives  a  thorough  training  in  it 
and  in  academic  subjects  as  well.  Every  student  must 
take  English,  trade  mathematics,  some  mechanical  draw- 


Plioto  by  Brown  Bros. 

EXERCISE  FOR  BRAIN  AND  BODY 

ing,  industrial  and  commercial  geography,  applied  science, 
and  hygiene,  and  must  receive  regular  physical  training. 
Each  boy  also  must  know  the  history  and  the  govern- 
ment of  his  own  country.  In  the  vocational  work  he 
chooses,  according  to  the  present  schedule,  one  of  eleven 
trade  groups  —  woodworking,  plumbing,  electric  wiring 
and  installation,  machine-shop  practice,  architectural 


42  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

drafting,  printing,  sign-painting,  automobile  maintenance 
and  repair,  mechanical  drawing,  garment  design,  and 
sheet-metal  work. 

"  In  the  curriculum  of  the  vocational  school  the  train- 
ing in  practical  work  is  the  point  from  which  everything 
focuses,"  said  Mr.  Loewy.  "  That  is  not  to  say  that  we 
do  not  insist  upon  the  academic  work.  We  do,  and  in  the 
last  six  months  of  the  course  cultural  subjects  are  in- 
cluded. But  the  academic  work  is  taught  from  a  prac- 
tical standpoint,  and  its  practical  significance  is  brought 
out.  A  boy  who  can  see  no  sense  in  the  study  of  Eng- 
lish grammar  becomes  interested  in  it  quickly  when  it  is 
studied  in  relation  to  his  chosen  trade. 

"  It  has  been  the  custom  to  call  these  vocational 
schools  trade  schools.  Some  even  have  felt  that  they 
were  institutions  where  those  who  have  failed  in  other 
branches  of  the  intellectual  work  might  find  refuge,  or 
where  boys  of  questionable  character  might  find  a  place 
to  be  reformed.  This  is  not  the  case.  Our  students 
are  graduates  of  elementary  schools,  and  this  alone  tes- 
tifies to  their  elementary  school  knowledge  as  well  as  to 
their  good  moral  character. 

"  You  ask  wherein  the  Murray  Hill  Vocational  School 
and  its  Brooklyn  branch  differ  from  the  general  type  of, 
say,  manual  training  high  school  as  we  find  it  through- 
out this  country.  High  schools,  whether  academic,  com- 
mercial, manual  training,  or  technical,  have  one  main 
purpose  —  to  prepare  their  respective  students  for  en- 
trance to  college.  Where  preparation  is  for  specific 
duties  upon  leaving  school,  it  is  only  an  incident  to  the 
main  functions  of  such  schools.  They  all  assist  in  de- 


SCHOOLS  WHERE  BOYS  LEARN        43 

veloping  the  intellectual,  moral,  and  physical  well  being 
of  the  student.  How  many  of  its  entering  students  com- 
plete the  course?  Not  twenty-five  per  cent.  Again, 
how  many  of  those  graduating  from  the  elementary 
school  enter  the  high  school  ?  The  percentage  is  lament- 
ably small.  What  is  the  reason?  Either  the  type  of 
work  most  essential  for  the  great  majority  is  not  offered, 
or  economic  conditions  of  the  students  prevent  them  from 
pursuing  the  work,  even  when  it  meets  their  requirements. 

"  Hitherto  secondary  schools  have  been  for  the  lim- 
ited few.  Only  fifteen  per  cent,  of  those  entering  ele- 
mentary schools  ever  take  advantage  of  them.  The 
other  eighty-five  per  cent,  have  been  virtually  neglected 
by  our  present  arrangement.  It  is  true  that  we  have 
claimed  our  system  of  education  to  be  democratic  in  plan 
and  scope,  but  can  we  say  that  of  an  institution  that 
makes  it  impossible  for  the  large  majority  to  accept  the 
training  which  such  a  system  offers?  Democracy  in 
education  implies  free  opportunity  for  all.  We  do  not 
wish  every  one  to  take  this  work,  but  we  do  offer  a  new 
field  for  those  who  can  not  fit  into  the  conditions  existing 
in  our  established  secondary  institutions. 

"  The  theory  upon  which  the  Murray  Hill  Vocational 
School  and  the  Brooklyn  Vocational  School  have  been 
based  is  that  what  is  needed  is  that  at  the  end  of  a  short 
course,  say  of  two  years,  the  student  shall  have  acquired 
such  fundamental  knowledge  of  some  branch  of  voca- 
tional work,  together  with  its  correlated  academic  sub- 
jects, that  he  will  be  in  a  position  to  do  useful  work 
having  a  market  value.  One  half  of  the  time  is  devoted 
to  practical  work  in  some  trade  under  the  guidance  of 


44  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

an  instructor  who  is  a  master  mechanic  in  that  trade.  In 
the  academic  subjects  the  teachers  are  also  men  who 
have  a  background  of  experience  that  enables  them  to 
correlate  the  academic  work  with  the  practical  shop  work. 
No  foreign  languages  are  taught. 

"  We  differ  from  the  old  trade-school  idea  in  that  we 
are  first  of  all  a  school  for  modern  citizenship.  To  make 
a  boy  a  good  citizen,  we  first  give  him  specific  training 
that  will  enable  him  to  make  his  living,  together  with  the 
academic  work  that  will  make  it  possible  for  him  to  get 
ahead.  Then  we  teach  him  the  history  and  civics  of  his 
country,  And  to  a  great  extent  we  depend,  in  our  pur- 
pose to  make  first-class  American  citizens  of  all  our  boys, 
upon  the  atmosphere  of  the  school. 

"  We  are,  you  see.  using  public  moneys.  This  is  a 
public  school.  And  we  can  not  spend  public  money  sim- 
ply with  the  idea  of  fitting  boys  for  a  trade.  The  first 
idea,  after  all,  must  be  the  benefit  to  the  State.  The 
State  is  interested  primarily  in  maintaining  itself.  But 
what  earthly  good  to  the  State  is  an  academic  training 
that  doesn't  teach  a  boy  to  make  a  living? 

"  New  trade  subjects  are  added  from  time  to  time, 
according  to  conditions  in  industry.  At  present  the  most 
popular  are  the  machine-shop,  electrical,  and  automobile 
repair  and  maintenance  courses.  But.  while  most  trade 
schools  neglect  or  treat  in  minor  fashion  their  academic 
subjects,  we  place  as  much  emphasis  upon  the  academic 
as  upon  the  trade  subjects. 

"  Both  the  schools  are  now  filled  beyond  their  capacity. 
Our  greatest  needs  are  proper  housing  facilities  and  ad- 
ditional shop  equipments.  The  next  step  will  be  to  add 


SCHOOLS  WHERE  BOYS  LEARN       45 

a  third  and  a  fourth  year,  so  that  graduates  of  our  two- 
year  course  may  at  some  future  time  take  an  additional 
year,  or  if  necessary  two  years,  to  advance  themselves 
in  their  present  positions,  or,  for  a  limited  few,  to  enter 
schools  of  technology.  This  would  be  in  line  with  the 
original  purpose  of  the  school — free  and  equal  oppor- 
tunity for  all.  Indeed,  we  might  even  expand  the  idea, 
and  by  adding  year  after  year  gradually  develop  a  Peo- 
ple's Technical  University.  I  believe  it  was  Huxley  who 
said  that  '  every  English  boy  ought  to  be  able  to  climb  the 
ladder  from  the  gutter  to  the  university.'  I  agree  with 
this,  but  I  should  like  to  modify  it  so  as  to  make  it  pos- 
sible for  the  climber  to  rest  at  various  stages  of  his  as- 
cent, to  have  him  acquire  practical  experience  and  the 
needed  money  to  continue  his  studies,  and  then  proceed 
to  climb  to  a  height  limited  only  by  his  physical  and  men- 
tal abilities." 

A  boy  may  enter  one  of  the  schools  at  any  time,  leave 
if  necessary,  and  come  back  and  finish  his  course  when 
he  is  ready. 

KATHERINE  WOODS  in  "  NEW  YORK  TIMES." 


PREPARING  THE  BOY  FOR  INDUSTRY 

TO  a  large  percentage  of  the  boys  who  each  year 
reach  legal  working  age,  the  call  to  enter  industry 
comes  with  a  strong  appeal,  the  appeal  of  a  great  new 
experience.  It  offers  a  change  from  the  routine  of 
school  life  and  a  freedom  from  study;  it  offers  a  charm 
of  an  income  and  of  more  spending  money,  a  feeling  of 
independence  and  an  improved  standing  among  one's 
neighbors.  Others  have  succeeded,  have  secured  good 
jobs  and  earn  good  wages;  why  may  not  they?  It  is 
the  call  to  a  big  adventure  in  which  are  wrapped  the  pos- 
sibilities of  the  future. 

Were  we  to  ask  these  boys  what  is  the  most  important 
thing  to  be  attained  through  industry,  it  is  likely  that 
from  most  of  them  we  would  receive  the  answer,  "  Good 
wages."  The  ability  to  command  an  adequate  income  is 
unquestionably  the  great  thing  desired  by  most  of  the 
human  race ;  and,  while  we  may  covet  for  humanity 
higher  and  more  unselfish  motives,  we  must  agree  as  to 
the  importance  of  proper  income  to  the  industrial 
worker.  His  view  of  life,  his  ability  to  seek  and  enjoy 
the  things  most  worth  while,  his  standing  and  his  use- 
fulness in  the  community,  will  depend  in  no  small  de- 
gree upon  his  ability  to  live  a  normal  life  in  comfortable 
surroundings. 

But  industry  holds  far  more  these  days  than  a  chance 

46 


PREPARING  THE  BOY  FOR  INDUSTRY    47 

for  financial  gain.  It  gives  to  many  the  opportunity  for 
that  development  of  mind  and  body  which  leads  to 
broader  interest  and  to  increased  ability,  and  their  ac- 
tivity in  matters  of  social  interest  is  partly  the  result  of 
success  as  industrial  workers.  The  larger  relationships 
of  industrial  life  present  also  the  problems  of  moral  de- 
velopment, either  for  better  or  for  worse ;  for  with  the 
associations  that  come  with  work  in  mill  or  shop  come 
moral  influences  that  help  in  the  strengthening  of  char- 
acter or  that  tend  to  lower  its  standards.  As  he  goes 
from  the  more  definite  influence  of  school  and  home  to 
the  freedom  of  industrial  acquaintance,  the  boy  is  likely 
to  grow  stronger  or  weaker  in  morals,  form  companion- 
ships that  will  influence  for  better  or  for  worse  his  am- 
bitions in  life,  and  largely  fix  his  position  as  a  factor 
either  for  good  or  for  evil. 

If  the  boy  who  is  to  enter  industry  is  to  be  prepared 
for  life,  much  will  depend,  then,  upon  how  he  is  pre- 
pared for  industry;  and  the  extent  to  which  our  schools 
prepare  the  boy  for  industry  will  in  many  cases  mark  the 
extent  of  their  influence  in  shaping  him  for  life  in  a  de- 
mocracy. If  he  is  to  emerge  in  later  life  a  useful  citizen, 
it  will  be  by  the  way  of  industry,  and  the  tone  that  his 
influence  is  to  give  to  the  affairs  of  his  community  will 
be  colored  to  some  extent  by  his  contact  with  industrial 
life. 

How,  then,  may  our  schools  prepare  the  boy  for  in- 
dustry? How  assist  him  to  withstand  the  temptation  to 
misuse  the  freedom  and  the  enlarging  opportunity  of  in- 
dustrial employment?  How  plant  firmly  within  him  the 
ideals  that  will  help  him  to  develop  into  a  useful  citizen 


48  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

rather  than  become  a  self -centered,  money-getting  arti- 
san? 

The  vocational  training  of  boys  for  industry  can  be 
considered  here  in  a  very  general  way  only.  So  varied 
are  the  demands  of  industry,  so  many  the  degrees  of  op- 
portunity offered,  and  so  different  the  provisions  made 
for  training  after  employment,  that  no  simple  rule  can 
be  suggested.  The  needs  of  each  locality  will  naturally 
govern  to  some  extent  the  vocational  training  advisable, 
and  the  preparations  that  the  employer  makes  will  modify 
those  needed  in  the  school  for  the  training  of  the  future 
worker.  Still  further,  there  is  the  problem  of  adjusting 
the  individual  to  his  proper  task,  of  finding  the  work  that 
will  afford  development  and  provide  income  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  worker.  These  variables  must  be  met  by 
a  program  sufficiently  flexible  to  insure  justice  to  the 
greatest  possible  number. 

We  may  well  keep  in  view  the  fact  that  most  indus- 
trial workers  eventually  specialize  in  their  work,  no  mat- 
ter how  elaborate  their  training.  The  young  man  finds 
that  he  does  his  best  work  and  makes  the  best  wages  in 
some  one  process,  and  to  this  he  is  apt  to  hold,  while 
only  a  few  engage  in  work  involving  broad  training  and 
demanding  general  skill.  The  instruction  given  to  em- 
ployees after  entering  industry  is,  therefore,  part  of  a 
program  of  adjustment  that  is  necessary  to  enable  the 
worker  to  find  his  ultimate  job. 

All  specialization  is  most  intelligent  and  appropriate 
if  it  has  been  preceded  by  a  program  of  training  in  dif- 
ferent operations.  The  apprentice  and  other  training 
courses  offered  by  employers  have  this  as  one  of  their 


PREPARING  THE  BOY  FOR  INDUSTRY    49 

objectives,  not  only  to  develop  men  for  general  utility, 
but  to  give  the  mental  development  that  produces  ef- 
ficiency to  the  worker.  Several  things  are  here  accom- 
plished: 

First,  the  worker's  curiosity  as  to  certain  kinds  of  work 
is  satisfied  in  the  process  of  the  rotation  about  the  shop, 
and  he  is  content  afterward  to  settle  down  to  one  of  them. 
If  confined  to  one  task  from  the  start,  he  is  apt  to  think 
some  other  is  more  attractive  and  keep  changing  later 
to  less  advantage. 

Second,  he  is  better  able  to  judge  the  work  to  which  he 
is  adapted  because  of  his  all-round  experience. 

Third,  he  is  mentally  broader  and  more  ingenious  and 
self-reliant  from  his  contact  with  many  problems  and 
their  solution  and  his  mastery  of  a  number  of  processes. 

Fourth,  he  has  less  fear  of  specialization,  since  he 
knows  his  ability  to  do  other  things,  if  necessary,  and 
there  is  absent  a  feeling  of  narrowness  due  to  the  con- 
fining character  of  his  task.  If  variety  of  opportunity 
is  not  provided,  it  will  in  many  cases  be  obtained  by  vol- 
untary drifting,  and  it  may  well  be  given  by  plan  at  first 
than  by  accident  later. 

We  find,  then,  that  this  ultimate  job  may  not  be  the 
thing  he  likes  best,  but  it  will  be  apt  to  be  the  thing  he 
can  do  to  best  advantage.  Here  industry  has  played  the 
part  of  vocational  guide,  since  it  directs  him  by  experi- 
ence to  that  which  gives  fullest  play  to  his  talents.  Most 
boys  who  have  served  four  years  at  a  trade  usually  stick 
to  that  trade ;  but  in  the  first  year  or  two  there  is  much 
of  readjustment  on  the  part  of  many,  as  they  try  to  find 
the  path  of  least  resistance. 


50  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

Whatever  the  school  may  do  in  vocational  guidance 
should  help  to  decrease,  though  not  eliminate,  this  post- 
employment  fitting  of  boys  to  jobs  and  jobs  to  boys.  The 
thing  he  likes  best  may  eventually  be  set  aside,  and  an- 
other more  serious  task  may  claim  his  life's  greatest  ef- 
fort; but  with  the  larger  number  the  guidance  of  the 
school  will  prove  to  be  safe  and  in  some  cases  final. 

When  proper  training  in  industry  is  not  provided,  the 
vocational  opportunity  of  the  schools  is  apparent.  To  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  they  may  prepare  for  specific  posi- 
tions or  trades,  and  give  the  student  the  breadth  of  ex- 
perience that  should  always  precede  specialization.  They 
may  at  least  teach  the  essential  operations  of  certain  pre- 
dominant trades,  or  what  we  may  call  the  "  alphabet  "  of 
the  trades,  from  which  are  deri  ved  the  many  combina- 
tions that  make  up  a  variety  of  industrial  occupations. 
With  these  fundamentals  mastered,  it  will  be  easier  for 
the  student  to  adapt  himself  to  a  specific  situation  than 
if  he  has  attempted  to  specialize  in  school  and  must  later 
take  up  other  work. 

As  vocational  guidance  becomes  more  practical  in  the 
years  of  school  activity,  the  more  effective  may  become 
the  vocational  training  possible  to  the  boy,  and  the  more 
certainly  may  the  variety  of  experience  be  made  to  con- 
tribute to  his  final  work. 

But,  whatever  may  be  the  extent  of  trade  or  voca- 
tional training,  before  the  boy  enters  the  shop  or  mill 
there  are  certain  mental  traits  that,  if  he  has  acquired 
them,  will  help  toward  successful  progress  in  industry. 
He  may  have  gone  through  the  school  program,  and  clone 
all  the  "  stunts  "  required,  and  be  able  to  show  some 


PREPARING  THE  BOY  FOR  INDUSTRY    51 

samples  of  his  productive  ability,  but  yet  miss  the  most 
desirable  of  things  possible  of  accomplishment.  The 
state  of  mind  is,  after  all,  one  of  the  great  things  de- 
sired—  the  attitude  of  the  boy  toward  his  future  work. 
His  conception  of  the  scope  of  his  school  training,  his 
ability  to  adjust  himself  to  his  work,  his  reaction  under 
discipline,  his  sense  of  the  relation  of  quality  and  quan- 
tity, and  his  attitude  toward  compensation,  will  have 
much  to  do  with  his  progress  toward  efficiency. 

The  extent  to  which  the  school  may  help  in  shaping  his 
attitude  toward  these  is  problematical,  but  .whatever  it 
may  be  able  to  accomplish  in  this  direction  will  be  desira- 
ble. We  have  known  boys  to  consider  their  trade-school 
training  as  sufficient  to  insure  a  substantial  income,  and 
who  have  drifted  from  place  to  place  because  it  did  not 
soon  materialize.  We  believe  that  it  is  unwise  for  any 
one  to  encourage  boys  in  considering  themselves  skilled 
mechanics  when  they  have  mastered  only  the  elements  of  a 
trade ;  yet  there  is  a  tendency,  even  though  an  unconscious 
one,  for  this  to  occur.  A  realization  that  his  training 
has  been  a  preparatory  one  will  usually  help  the  boy  to 
better  appreciate  the  requirements  of  his  real  job. 

"  Production  "  is  the  big  word  in  most  industrial  es- 
tablishments. However  promising  a  boy  may  be,  the 
world  and  his  employer  will  not  long  be  satisfied  with 
promises:  he  must  produce  the  goods.  The  shop  was 
called  into  being  to  produce  needed  commodities,  and  it 
must  fulfill  its  mission  efficiently  or  die.  It  is  not  sur- 
prising that  upon  this  word  has  pivoted  the  whole  of 
business  organization,  and  by  this  word  must  be  gauged 
the  extent  to  which  each  individual  fits  into  the  scheme 


52  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

of  industrial  enterprise.  Whatever  else  the  boy  may  be 
or  do,  or  may  not  do  or  be,  he  must  produce  his  expected 
share  of  the  shop's  grist.  It  is  "  output  "  or  "  put  out." 

The  proper  balance  between  "quality"  and  "quan- 
tity "  is  the  secret  of  success  in  industrial  production.  A 
boy  may  be  extremely  accurate  and  painstaking,  but  be 
exasperatingly  slow.  Another  boy  may  be  "  quick  as  a 
wink,"  but  lack  the  care  necessary  to  proper  finish.  Each 
of  these  will  find  his  niche,  but  his  name  should  not  be 
"  legion,"  for  these  niches  are  limited.  The  great  de- 
mand is  far  those  who  can  coordinate  carefulness  and 
speed,  and  their  number  must  continue  to  increase.  Both 
traits  can  be  developed  in  some  degree  by  training.  One 
naturally  expects  our  schools  to  teach  accuracy  rather 
than  speed,  but  if  quick  thinking  can  be  stimulated  in 
school  work  it  will  pave  the  way  for  the  final  develop- 
ment of  the  future  skilled  producer. 

The  money  question  is  a  serious  one  to  many  young 
people  at  the  age  of  business  opportunity.  Too  many 
are  willing  to  sacrifice  their  future  for  immediate  finan- 
cial gain,  and  leave  school  and  further  training  for  what 
they  may  earn.  Courses  of  training  in  industry  are 
often  passed  by  for  futureless  jobs  with  large  incomes 
attached.  Thousands  of  young  men  have  been  ruined 
in  the  past  few  years  by  this  money-mad  policy.  It  is  a 
condition  that  can  be  reduced  only  by  the  close  coopera- 
tion of  school  and  parent  and  employer.  It  deserves  our 
best  thought  and  effort  in  a  campaign  of  education  that 
must  begin  at  some  point  far  from  the  zone  of  temptation. 

All  work  in  industry  naturally  demands  abounding 
health  and  physical  soundness.  If  the  work  involves 


PREPARING  THE  BOY  FOR  INDUSTRY    53 

muscular  activity,  physical  preparedness  will  help  to  pre- 
vent undue  fatigue  at  the  start ;  while,  should  the  work 
be  sedentary  and  involve  little  muscular  effort,  the  abil- 
ity to  withstand  the  confinement  is  equally  important. 
The  value  of  body-building  exercise  as  a  preparation  for 
industrial  work  needs  little  comment  here,  but  we  do  not 
wish  to  appear  to  undervalue  it  as  compared  with  the 
other  subjects  involved.  We  may  well  include  in  our 
school  equipment  the  shop,  the  study  room,  the  gym- 
nasium. Carefulness  and  the  avoiding  of  hazards  may 
easily  be  taught,  and  our  school  shops  should,  of  course, 
train  the  boy  in  the  use  of  safety  devices  and  eye-pro- 
tectors. 

We  believe  that  most  schools  have  a  direct  moral  in- 
fluence that  is  of  the  greatest  value  in  steadying  the  lives 
of  growing  youth.  Where  home  and  other  agencies  co- 
operate with  the  school  in  moral  training,  the  results  are 
encouraging;  but  when  the  school  operates  alone,  the 
task  is  a  trying  one.  Within  the  ranks  of  industry  will 
be  found  some  of  the  finest  people  the  world  has  pro- 
duced, men  and  women  of  high  ideals  and  excellent  in- 
fluence. But  industry  as  a  whole  has  not  as  definite  a 
moral  caliber  as  we  might  wish.  Its  detailed  influence 
may  be  for  good  or  for  evil ;  its  habit-changing  and  habit- 
forming  power  will  sometimes  be  for  the  worse  as  well 
as  for  the  better. 

Since  the  problem  of  preparation  deals  with  an  end- 
less variety  of  student  abilities  and  tendencies,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  individual  instruction  in  school  will  count  ef- 
fectively to  whatever  extent  it  is  permissible,  for  that 
preparation  alone  can  be  effective  which  takes  into  ac- 


54  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

count  the  needs  of  the  individual  student.  Thorough- 
ness in  a  smaller  number  of  subjects  will  outweigh  a 
more  pretentious  program  hurried  through.  It  is  not  so 
much  the  extent  of  his  knowledge  as  it  is  his  ability  to 
apply  what  he  has  studied  that  measures  the  value  of  his 
training. 

We  believe  the  present  increase  in  cooperation  be- 
tween school  and  employer  a  most  helpful  sign  of  future 
progress,  for  this  mutual  interest  will  accomplish  needed 
improvement.  As  the  school  sees  more  clearly  the  de- 
mands of  the  future  upon  the  boy,  as  the  employer  ap- 
preciates more  fully  his  responsibilities  in  the  worker's 
welfare,  we  may  expect  the  boy  to  realize  more  fully  that 
progress  in  industry  will  depend  upon  developement  and 
not  upon  good  luck  or  friendly  influence.  This  mutual 
understanding  will  make  most  effective  the  preparation 
of  the  boy  for  industry,  and  through  industry  for  life. 

Louis  L.  PARK, 

Factory  Welfare  Superintendent, 

American  Locomotive  Company, 

Schenectady,  New  York. 


PHARMACY  AS  A  VOCATION 

BROADLY  speaking,  pharmacy  to  be  followed  as  a 
vocation  is  divided  into  the  manufacturing  and  the 
retail  branch.  American  pharmacy  in  its  manufacturing 
branch  has  advanced  to  a  very  high  state,  and  is  the  equal 
of  any  in  the  world.  There  is  a  splendid  field  and  op- 
portunity for  the  technically  trained  man  in  the  pharma- 
ceutical laboratory.  Retail  pharmacy  for  the  man  pro- 
fessionally inclined  now  shows  signs  of  rapid  advance- 
ment and  improvement. 

There  is  an  ever-increasing  higher  standard.  "The  edu- 
cational institutions  in  pharmacy  have  for  years  been 
striving  to  attract  the  qualified  student  and  to  bring  it 
upon  a  higher  plane  professionally.  The  efforts  are  be- 
ginning to  show  splendid  results,  and  it  is  now  only  a 
question  of  time  until  American  retail  pharmacy  will  be 
the  equal  in  standing  to  that  of  any  other  country. 

In  practical  life  retail  pharmacy  to-day  is  the  corner 
drug-store.  It  has  its  distinct  business  and  professional 
features.  In  the  past  quarter  of  a  century  or  more,  re- 
tail pharmacy  has  shown  marked  development  on  its  busi- 
ness side,  to  the  detriment  of  its  professional  side;  but 
now  there  is  a  noticeable  trend  in  the  other  direction.  A 
successful  retail  pharmacist  should  combine  good  com- 
mercial training  with  a  thorough  technical  training,  and 
the  promise  of  greatest  success  for  the  future  is  with  the 

55 


56  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

man  who  has  a  well  grounded  technical  and  scientific 
training. 

The  several  States  control  and  supervise  the  practice  of 
retail  pharmacy  by  requiring  those  who  would  be  engaged 
therein  to  prove  proper  qualifications,  by  examination. 
Fitness  and  qualification  for  manufacturing  pharmacy  is 
largely  left  for  supervision  to  those  who  are  engaged 
therein;  but  the  success  of  the  manufacturing  pharmacist 
depends  upon  requiring  proper  qualification,  and  it  is  very 
carefully  regarded.  Whether  intending  to  take  up  manu- 
facturing pharmacy  or  retail  pharmacy,  the  first  thing  to 
have  in  mind  is  a  pharmacy  college  education.  The  re- 
quirements for  entering  a  college  of  pharmacy  or  depart- 
ment of  pharmacy  vary  in  the  different  States.  The  min- 
imum requirement  for  entrance  to-day  is  at  least  two 
years  in  high  school,  and  in  many  States  it  is  high-school 
graduation.  The  courses  in  different  colleges  cover  a 
period  of  from  two  to  four  years,  and  degrees  conferred 
are  graduate  of  pharmacy,  master  of  pharmacy,  and  doc- 
tor of  pharmacy.  Whether  intending  to  take  up  manu- 
facturing or  retail  pharmacy,  the  student  who  would 
build  well  for  the  future,  and  who  is  at  all  able  so  to  ar- 
range, should  decide  upon  spending  a  full  four  years  at 
college,  to  become  thoroughly  equipped  and  trained. 

In  their  supervision  of  the  practice  of  retail  pharmacy, 
the  several  States  require  four  years  of  combined  prac- 
tical and  college  work,  or  of  college  work  alone,  to  be- 
come registered  or  licensed  as  a  pharmacist.  In  many 
States  two  years  of  combined  practical  and  college  work 
permit  registration  as  an  assistant  pharmacist  in  any  of 
the  several  States  by  successfully  spending  two  years 


PHARMACY  AS  A  VOCATION  57 

at  college  and  two  years  at  practical  work  in  a  retail 
pharmacy.  There  are  recognized  colleges  of  pharmacy, 
or  university  departments  of  pharmacy,  in  almost  every 
State  in  the  country. 

In  manufacturing  pharmacy,  remuneration  depends  to 
a  large  degree  upon  personal  ability  and  initiative  in  re- 
search work,  but  the  man  of  average  ability  and  fitness 
will  have  a  fair  living  income.  For  the  person  of  small 
means,  or  of  no  means  at  all,  retail  pharmacy  doubtless 
offers  an  attractive  future.  It  is  the  ever  human  desire 
of  persons  to  contemplate  the  time  when  they  may  be- 
come their  own  masters,  that  is,  when  they  will  not  be 
the  employees  of  some  one  else.  With  proper  practical 
and  technical  training,  a  man  having  from  twenty-five 
hundred  to  five  thousand  dollars  to  invest  may  hope  to 
become  the  owner  of  a  retail  pharmacy.  The  capital 
investment  of  profitable  pharmacies  is  usually  larger,  but 
results  from  gradual  accumulation,  or  the  having  of 
credit,  which  is  always  available  for  the  right  kind  of 
man. 

Any  properly  qualified  man  in  retail  pharmacy  who 
is  without  any  means  may  hope,  after  an  employment 
period  of  from  five  to  ten  years,  to  accumulate  from  his 
earnings  sufficient  to  engage  in  business  on  his  own  ac- 
count. Retail  pharmacy  does  not  promise  all  the  riches 
in  the  world,  but  it  does  promise  a  fair  living  income  to 
provide  for  one's  self  and  family;  it  promises  a  helpful 
and  useful  occupation,  a  fair  social  standing,  and  a  pro- 
fessional standing  that  is  likely  to  rise  to  a  much  higher 
plane. 

F.  H.  FREERICKS. 


CHEMISTRY  IN  OVERALLS 

CHEMICAL  control  may  sound  theoretical ;  but  it 
is,  in  effect,  intensely  practical,  and  it  applies  where 
those  who  are  unfamiliar  with  the  subject  would  least 
expect  it.  For  instance,  if  a  man  makes  mowing-ma- 
chines he  may  not  appear  to  need  the  help  of  a  chemical 
engineer  in  his  establishment;  but  if  we  inquire  into  the 
subject  we  shall  find  that  he  does.  In  fact,  next  to  the 
design  of  his  machine,  the  chemical  features  of  his  prac- 
tice are  of  leading  importance. 

Every  unit  of  his  product  should  be  made  of  that  very 
specific  material  which  will  provide  the  best  and  most 
enduring  service  at  the  lightest  weight  and  the  lowest  cost. 
It  requires  a  metallurgical  chemist  to  select  most  of  his 
materials  in  the  first  place  and  to  hold  them  to  quality 
afterward.  The  question  where  the  machine  will  wear 
out  first,  or  the  location  of  any  structural  weakness,  can 
be  indicated  in  specially  designed  laboratory  tests  and  the 
fault  corrected  before  the  machine  is  put  upon  the  market. 

Every  spring  should  be  made  of  steel  that  maintains  its 
resiliency;  the  knives  should  have  and  hold  the  best  cut- 
ting edge  that  the  manufacturer  can  afford;  and  the  driv- 
ing rods  must  be  stiff  without  being  brittle.  These  quali- 
ties are  not  regulated  by  the  price  paid  for  the  steel ;  it 
often  happens  that  the  best  is  very  cheap,  provided  one 
knows  just  what  to  specify  or  to  buy.  Paint  is  another 
material  that  requires  laboratory  control  to  insure  en- 

58 


CHEMISTRY  IN  OVERALLS  59 

durance,  maximum  covering  power,  quality  of  shade,  and 
proper  cost,  combined  with  protection  against  rust. 

The  structural  characteristics  of  different  steels  and 
the  internal  structure  of  paint  films  are  subjects  that,  riot 
many  years  ago,  were  entirely  within  the  realm  of  pure 
theory.  They  have  now  become  the  very  foundations  of 
the  best  practice.  Is  it  not  obvious  that  the  man  who 
knows  the  real  nature,  and  therefore  the  possibilities  and 


'hoto  hy  P>m\vn   Urns. 

WHERE  THEORY  IS  MADE  PRACTICABLE 

limitations,  of  his  materials  is  at  least  a  neck  ahead  in 
the  race  of  the  one  who  judges  by  the  price  he  pays 
or  by  the  affirmations  of  a  man  whose  interest  lies  only  in 
making  a  single  sale  ? 

It  may  not  seem  clearly  evident  that  a  street-railway 
system  has  much  of  a  chemical  side  to  it;  and  yet,  chem- 
ists do  a  great  deal  of  work  for  street  railways.  In  the 


60  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

first  place,  railways  buy  many  tons  of  metal.  Here  the 
metallurigcal  chemist  makes  specifications  for  that  which 
will  best  serve  each  purpose,  and  deliveries  are  tested. 
Paints  and  varnishes  cut  a  larger  figure  than  with  the 
mowing-machine  man.  Important  savings  are  made  by 
buying  supplies,  such  as  lubricants,  boiler  compounds, 
soap  and  cleansing  powders,  according  to  actual  needs, 
under  specification  and  in  bulk.  Chemical  control  is 
needed  in  the  purchase  of  railway  supplies  all  along  the 
line,  and  it  takes  experience  as  well  as  study  to  maintain 
it.  This  would  seem  to  be  self-evident;  nevertheless  we 
can  point  out  utterly  absurd  losses  in  great  organiza- 
tions that  are  otherwise  well  managed,  all  for  lack  of  this 
needed  and  specialized  form  of  control. 

One  might  not  think  that  a  dry-goods  merchant  needed 
the  chemist's  aid;  and  yet  here  is  what  the  chemist  does 
for  dry-goods  and  department  stores  in  the  textile  lab- 
oratory. They  determine  the  actual  fiber  content  of  sam- 
ples furnished.  This  avoids  errors  in  the  quality  of 
goods  purchased,  and  provides  the  only  proper  basis  for 
the  guaranty  that  goods  are  what  they  are  represented 
to  be.  Guaranties  based  upon  guesses  are  expensive. 
The  chemist  determines  the  strength  and  wearing  quali- 
ties of  fabrics,  and  tests  the  resistance  of  dyes  to  light, 
bleach,  mud-stains,  and  washing.  He  analyzes  hosiery, 
for  instance,  with  regard  to  structure,  content,  wear,  and 
general  merit,  as  definitely,  as  he  would  a  rod  of  steel. 
Even  in  the  matter  of  supplies,  such  as  paper,  stationery, 
twine,  soap,  polish,  etc.,  he  makes  specifications  that  result 
in  remarkable  savings. 

A  bank  is  hardly  a  chemical  institution;  and  yet  the 


CHEMISTRY  IN  OVERALLS  61 

chemist  is  frequently  called  upon  by  bankers  and  invest- 
ment houses  for  help.  A  manufacturer  of  an  unfamiliar 
product  may  be  increasing  his  obligations  in  a  measure  to 
arouse  the  concern  of  the  careful  banker.  A  confidential 
report  from  the  chemist  as  to  what  the  manufacturer 
does,  what  his  product  is,  and  whether  his  processes  are 
economical  and  adequate,  posts  the  banker  on  the  very 
features  of  his  depositor's  business  that  he  desires  to 
understand.  It  enables  him  to  judge  as  to  the  right  line 
of  credit,  and  often  clears  away  doubts  that  have  re- 
stricted legitimate  and  desirable  loans. 

Again,  some  one  comes  along  with  an  invention  all 
patented  and  the  patents  passed  upon  by  eminent  counsel. 
It  looks  like  the  proverbial  gold-mine  with  an  engaging 
prospectus,  a  financial  plan  with  provision  for  working 
capital,  and  with  sales  practically  guaranteed.  But  the 
process,  which  seems  to  be  mechanical,  involves  principles 
of  physics  and  chemistry  that  the  best  business  man  is 
almost  certain  to  miss  unless  he  is  thoroughly  familiar 
with  the  scientific  basis  of  the  art  involved.  Now,  un- 
less every  step  in  manufacture  is  developed  through  fac- 
tory as  well  as  laboratory  research  and  tests,  the  proposi- 
tion may  be  fairly  bristling  with  otherwise  invisible 
chances  of  failure. 

"  State  of  the  art  "  searches,  in  which  the  chemist  has 
long  specialized,  prove  no  less  useful  to  banking  and  in- 
vestment houses  than  to  manufacturers.  These  provide 
a  careful  study  of  prospective  as  well  as  present  markets 
for  materials,  compare  available  methods  of  production, 
and,  by  a  diligent  scrutiny  of  the  progress  of  applied 
science  both  here  and  abroad,  disclose  dangers  that 


62  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

threaten   long  before   they   are   felt.     The  chemist  also 
points  out  where  extensions  of  sales  are  warranted. 

From  a  banking  standpoint  it  would  appear  that  a 
manufacturer  should  himself  see  to  it  that  his  establish- 
ment is  kept  up  to  date  in  the  matter  of  raw  materials, 
processes,  and  use  of  wastes;  but  very  often — far  too 
often  for  the  welfare  of  American  industry  —  he  does 
not.  Time  and  again,  if  he  has  a  good  thing,  he  lets  it 
go  at  that  —  while  somebody  else,  somewhere  else,  works 
out  a  shorter  or  cheaper  method  or  a  better  product,  and 
he  is  left  stranded.  Then  the  creditors  form  a  commit- 
tee, and  the  president  of  the  bank  explains  to  the  directors 
that  the  failure  is  due  to  cut-throat  competition  —  while 
the  competitors  are  getting  rich !  The  trouble  is  that  the 
manufacturer  failed  to  learn  that  the  most  practical  thing 
in  the  world  to-day  is  science. 

Now,  it  always  has  given,  and  it  probably  always  will 
give,  a  man  a  financial  black  eye  to  say  of  him  that  he  is 
an  impractical  theorist;  and  experience  teaches  that  the 
impractical  theorist  is  a  dangerous  borrower,  no  matter 
how  honest  he  may  be.  But  the  manufacturer  who  is  not 
of  a  scientific  disposition,  and  who  conducts  his  business 
without  competent  control  of  his  materials  and  processes, 
is  unable  to  keep  informed  as  to  the  march  of  progress; 
and  by  this  very  fault  he  invites  hazards  that  are  bound 
to  affect  his  credit.  He,  too,  is  a  dangerous  borrower. 
Information  of  this  sort  is  not  available  from  mercantile 
agencies  or  credit  bureaus. 

A  very  important  branch  of  the  chemist's  activity  con- 
cerns cellulose.  This  is  nature's  great  structural  mate- 
rial. It  is  the  essential  component  of  the  cell  walls  of 


CHEMISTRY  IN  OVERALLS  63 

plants,  and  as  such  the  basis  of  all  plant  tissues.  So  its 
properties  are  of  interest  and  importance  to  the  lumber- 
man, the  maker  of  cordage,  the  spinners  and  weavers  of 
cotton,  the  workers  in  flax,  hemp,  jute,  and  ramie,  the 
pulp  and  paper-makers,  and  to  all  those  whose  business 
it  is  to  utilize  this  remarkable  material  that  still  remains 
the  product  of  nature's  laboratory. 

This  is  only  a  hint  of  the  bewildering  possibilities  and 
actualities  of  cellulose.  It  takes  kindly  to  nitric  acid  and 
becomes  gun-cotton  and  smokeless  powder.  Less  highly 
nitrated,  it  functions  as  soluble  cotton,  collodion,  and  cel- 
luloid, and  it  appears  in  lacquers,  artificial  leathers,  and  a 
host  of  other  things.  Treated  with  caustic  soda  and  car- 
bon bisulphide,  it  is  transformed  into  viscose,  and  later 
comes  upon  the  market  as  artificial  silk,  of  which  millions 
of  pounds  are  produced  annually.  Acetic  anhydride 
transforms  cellulose  into  cellulose  acetate,  a  first  cousin 
of  the  nitrate,  but  less  temperamental,  being  non-explosive 
and  as  harmless  as  a  paper  doll.  From  it  have  been 
made  artificial  bristles,  a  superior  artificial  silk,  non-in- 
flammable films  for  moving  pictures,  windshields  for  avi- 
ators, and  "  dopes  "  for  airplane  wings. 

If  zymo-technology  is  a  word  that  twists  the  tongue 
uncomfortably,  let  us  call  it  fermenting,  which  will  indi- 
cate the  subject.  There  are  a  great  number  of  yeasts  and 
bacilli  that  cause  fermentation,  with  a  great  variety  of 
products  as  the  result,  and  they  are,  like  fire,  good  serv- 
ants but  bad  masters.  When  the  desired  culture  is  se- 
cured for  a  given  purpose,  and  its  life  and  habits  are 
studied  and  mastered,  ideal  manufacturing  conditions  may 
be  attained.  They  work  while  you  sleep  and  they  live  in 


64  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

a  tub.  From  an  industrial  standpoint  the  great  field  of 
bacteriological  chemistry  is  full  of  interest  and  promise. 

Chemists  have  helped  to  develop  the  production  of 
alcohol  from  wood  waste  such  as  sawdust,  and  from  other 
materials  having  a  basis  of  cellulose,  and  they  have  done 
effective  work  in  the  opposite  direction  in  the  way  of 
preventing  rot,  fermentation,  mold,  decay,  and  the  like. 
They  have  done  successful  work  in  the  sterilization  of 
water,  and  in  its  treatment  for  various  purposes  from 
feeding  boilers  to  table  use,  and  also  in  the  treatment  and 
disposal  of  sewage  and  factory  effluents. 

Skim  milk  is  chiefly  casein,  and,  while  it  is  a  food 
rich  in  protein,  it  was  formerly  fed  to  the  pigs  or  thrown 
away.  Chemical  research  brought  out  its  value  in  paper- 
sizing,  in  making  water-soluble  paints  for  interior  use, 
and  for  many  other  purposes. 

Another  use  for  skim  milk  consists,  under  a  patented 
process,  of  emulsifying  cocoanut  oil  and  skim  milk  in 
water  and  then  stabilizing  them  so  that  the  product  has 
substantially  the  same  food  qualities  as  milk  and  cream, 
and  it  looks  and  tastes  like  milk  and  cream.  The  skim 
milk  may  be  shipped  dried. 

Binder  twine,  used  in  the  harvest  fields  for  binding 
sheaves  of  wheat  and  other  grains,  was  formerly  often 
consumed  by  crickets,  leaving  the  sheaves  unbound.  The 
chemist  was  called  upon  to  solve  this  problem.  It  re- 
quired elaborate  entomological  research  to  discover  why 
the  crickets  consumed  the  twine,  and,  following  this,,  an 
effective  means  of  discouraging  them  from  their  attacks. 

Again,  the  chemist  was  asked  to  develop  a  waterproof 
paper  that  would  not  tear.  This  is  now  manufactured  on 


CHEMISTRY  IN  OVERALLS  65 

a  considerable  scale.  The  chemist's  contributions  to  the 
paper  industry  have  been  many  and  extend  over  the  en- 
tire period  of  our  history.  The  question  as  to  where 
future  supplies  of  paper  are  to  come  from  is  a  pressing 
one,  and  in  an  experimental  pulp  and  paper-mill  the 
chemist  has  tested  out  a  large  number  of  different  mate- 
rials, some  of  which  are  full  of  promise.  The  chemist 
has  been  an  important  factor  in  the  development  of  the 
sulphite  pulp  industry  especially.  An  interesting  under- 
taking was  the  production  of  a  certain  kind  of  paper-felt 
from  bagasse  for  covering  the  young  sprouts  of  sugar- 
cane and  thus  avoid  the  growth  of  weeds  in  Hawaii.  It 
increases  the  yield  more  than  twenty-five  per  cent,  and 
cuts  down  the  labor  costs  from  fifty  to  seventy  per  cent, 
by  eliminating  the  necessity  of  repeated  weedings.  A 
mill  in  Hawaii  manufactures  this  paper- felt. 

Chemists  have  made  extensive  researches  into  the  lum- 
bering industry,  and  the  results  of  their  studies  of  the 
actual  and  proved  possibilities  of  the  longleaf  pine  bring 
out  the  amazing  fact  that  the  industrial  value  of  a  full 
grown  pine  tree  is  no  less  than  five  times  what  has  been 
obtained  from  it.  If,  of  all  the  yellow  pine  cut,  the  en 
tire  trees  were  used,  not  only  as  theoretical  science  teaches 
but  according  to  known  and  proved  methods  of  applied 
science,  there  would  be  added  to  the  estate  of  the  Amer- 
ican people  every  day  40,00x3  tons  of  paper,  3,000  tons  of 
rosin,  300,000  gallons  of  turpentine,  and  600,000  gallons 
of  ethyl  or  grain  alcohol,  together  with  the  fuel  for  these 
industries,  besides  the  lumber.  Of  course,  this  would  re- 
quire a  heavy  expenditure  of  capital  and  a  large  amount 
of  labor;  but  the  facts  remain. 


66  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

It  is  our  firm  belief  that  thus  far  science  has  only 
scratched  the  surface  of  the  industry.  The  great  re- 
wards await  those  who  have  the  faith  and  courage  to  plow 
deep. 

ARTHUR  D.  LITTLE, 

Industrial  Research  Laboratory, 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 


FORESTRY  PURSUITS 

FORESTRY  is  the  business,  or  the  art,  or  the  science, 
depending  on  the  point  of  view  from  which  you 
look  at  it,  of  handling  forests  for  timber  production  or 
stream-flow  protection.  It  does  not,  as  is  often  mis- 
takenly thought,  have  anything  to  do  with  fruit  trees, 
or  even  with  street  and  park 'trees.  The  care  of  these 
comes  under  horticulture  and  arboriculture.  Forestry  is 
distinct  from  either,  in  that  it  has  to  do  primarily  with 
entire  stands  of  trees,  or  forests,  rather  than  with  indi- 
viduals. Forests  are  really  nothing  more  or  less  than 
tree  societies,  or  committees,  comparable  in  many  ways 
with  human  communities,  every  member  of  which  has  an 
influence  upon  and  in  turn  is  influenced  by  its  neighbors; 
and  it  is  this  fact  that  gives  to  forestry  its  distinctive 
character. 

Forestry  should  also  not  be  confused  with  lumbering. 
Lumbering  has  to  do  merely  with  harvesting  the  trees  on 
any  given  area,  with  cutting  them,  transporting  them  to 
the  mill,  and  converting  them  into  lumber  or  other  prod- 
ucts. While  the  chief  task  of  the  forester  is  to  manage 
forest  lands,  he  has  to  do  with  the  production  of  trees  as 
well  as  with  their  utilization.  Forestry  is  concerned 
fully  as  much  -with  the  future  as  with  the  present.  Like 
agriculture,  it  looks  forward  to  keeping  the  land  con- 
tinuously productive  by  the  growth  of  successive  crops. 
Only,  in  the  case  of  forestry,  the  crops,  instead  of  being 
wheat  or  rye  or  corn,  are  trees,  which  in  turn  can  be  con- 

67 


LOGGING 


FORESTRY  PURSUITS  69 

verted  into  fuel,  fence-posts,  railroad  ties,  wood  pulp, 
lumber,  and  a  host  of  other  wood  products.  How  much 
the  forests  mean  to  the  economic  development  of  a  com- 
munity through  the  crops  that  they  produce  and  the  em- 
ployment that  they  offer  is  evidenced  only  too  plainly  by 
the  desolation  that  has  followed  destructive  lumbering  in 
many  a  once  prosperous  forest  region. 

In  addition  to  yielding  crops  that  have  a  commercial 
value,  forests  in  mountainous  regions  perform  another 
important  function,  which  is  none  the  less  valuable  be- 
cause its  benefits  are  difficult  to  measure  in  dollars  and 
cents.  By  decreasing  erosion  and  regulating  stream- 
flow,  the  mountain  forests  conserve  water  for  domestic 
supplies,  irrigation,  power,  and  navigation,  and  at  the 
same  time  help  to  lessen  the  damage  caused  by  destructive 
floods.  So  far-reaching  is  this  influence,  and  so  great 
is  the  population  affected  by  it,  that  the  treatment  that 
such  forests  receive  becomes  a  matter  of  vital  interest  to 
the  general  public.  One  of  the  primary  concerns  of 
forestry  is  to  see  that  they  are  handled  in  such  a  way  as 
to  afford  the  maximum  amount  of  protection,  even  if 
this  involves,  as  it  not  infrequently  does,  the  restriction  or 
entire  prevention  of  lumbering  operations. 

In  order  to  handle  to  the  best  advantage  the  area 
under  his  charge,  there  is  a  wide  range  of  work  that  a 
forester  may  be  called  upon  to  do.  He  must  be  able  to 
identify  different  kinds  of  trees,  and  he  must  know  the 
uses  to  which  each  can  be  put  and  the  sites  to  which  they 
are  best  adapted.  He  must  be  able  to  map  the  area  and 
to  determine  the  amount  and  value  of  the  timber  upon 
it.  He  must  be  able  to  draw  up  a  complete  plan  for 


jo  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

protecting  the  forest  from  fire,  and  to  carry  out  the  de- 
tails involved  in  its  execution.  He  must  know  how  to 
control  the  attacks  of  destructive  insects  and  fungous 
diseases.  He  must  be  able  to  handle  the  many  details 
connected  with  the  collection  of  seed  and  the  production 
of  young  trees  in  forest-tree  nurseries.  He  must  know 
where  and  how  to  plant  these,  or  how  to  sow  the  seed 
on  areas  where  this  is  preferable.  He  must  know 
whether  any  given  stand  is  too  dense,  and  if  so  what  and 
how  many  trees  should  be  taken  out  to  stimulate  the 
growth  of  those  that  are  left.  He  must  be  able  to  de- 
termine the  rate  at  which  trees  are  growing  and  the  age 
at  which  they  should  be  cut,  and  to  make  plans  for  har- 
vesting them  in  such  a  way  as  to  secure  natural  reproduc- 
tion. And,  finally,  he  must  be  able  to  draw  up  a  "  work- 
ing plan  "  providing  in  detail  for  the  handling  of  the  en- 
tire forest  in  such  a  way  as  to  keep  it  continually  pro- 
ductive. 

All  of  this  obviously  involves  a  good  deal  of  office 
work  in  the  formulation  of  plans,  the  maintenance  of  rec- 
ords, and  the  miscellaneous  administrative  work  con- 
nected with  any  business  enterprise.  It  also  involves  a 
good  deal  of  practical  out-of-door  work.  The  average 
forester  must  take  long  walks  and  horseback  rides.  He 
must  often  camp  out.  He  must  take  his  part  in  fighting 
fires,  which  means  the  liberal  and  energetic  use  of  the 
ax,  the  mattock,  and  the  shovel.  He  must  run  compass 
and  transit  lines  and  make  topographic  maps.  He  must 
estimate  the  size  and  contents  of  standing  trees  by  the 
use  of  calipers  and  height-measures,  and  must  scale  the 
fallen  timber.  He  must  mark,  or  blaze,  the  trees  to  be 


FORESTRY  PURSUITS  71 

removed  in  lumbering,  and  must  see  that  the  operations 
are  carried  out  in  accordance  with  the  approved  plans. 
He  must  collect  tree  cones,  extract  the  seeds  from  these, 
sow  them  in  the  nursery,  care  for  the  young  seedlings, 
and  later  set  them  out  in  the  forest. 

He  must  .also  do  a  hundred  and  one  other  things  that 
are  not  strictly  forestry,  but  that  are  so  closely  connected 
with  it  that  they  must  be  handled  by  the  forester  along 
with  his  other  work.  Grazing  is  a  good  example  of  this, 
since  most  of  the  forest  regions  in  the  United  States  pro- 
duce forage  as  well  as  trees.  In  order  to  utilize  this  to 
best  advantage,  the  forester  must  know  how  many  stock 
the  range  will  support,  and  how  they  should  be  handled. 
In  regions  where  mineral  deposits  occur  he  must  be  famil- 
iar with  the  mining  laws,  and  must  have  at  least  enough 
knowledge  regarding  mining  to  deal  intelligently  with 
prospectors  and  others.  Since  most  of  the  forests  occur 
in  undeveloped  regions,  he  must  know  how  to  open  these 
up  by  building  ranger  and  lookout  stations,  and  by  con- 
structing such  other  permanent  improvements  as  roads, 
bridges,  trails,  and  telephone  lines.  In  short,  the  average 
forester,  particularly  in  pioneer  regions,  must  be  a  veri- 
table jack-of-all-trades. 

Forestry  is  primarily  an  out-of-door  occupation. 
Some  indoor  work  in  the  formulation  of  plans,  writing 
of  reports,  handling  of  correspondence,  and  other  office 
routine,  is  of  course  necessary,  particularly  in  the  case 
of  those  charged  with  the  administration  of  large  areas. 
But  the  average  forester  must  spend  the  bulk  of  his  time 
in  the  open,  in  the  forests  for  which  he  is  caring.  '  Some- 
times his  headquarters  may  be  in  a  small  town,  sometimes 


72  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

in  a  more  or  less  isolated  situation  in  the  woods  them- 
selves. In  either  case,  his  daily  work  will  ordinarily 
take  him  into  the  open,  in  sunshine  and  in  rain.  Occa- 
sionally he  may  be  absent  from  home  for  several  weeks 
at  a  time,  carrying  his  bed  and  provisions  on  his  back, 
or,  if  he  is  fortunate,  on  a  pack-animal. 

As  far  as  geographical  location  is  concerned,  oppor- 
tunities for  foresters  have  heretofore  been  mainly  in 
the  mountain  regions  of  the  West,  where  the  national 
forests  are  located.  As  forestry  comes  to  be  practised 
more  and  more  on  State  forests  and  on  private  lands, 
however,  similar  opportunities  will  develop  in  the  East. 
There  is  no  reason  why  large  number  of  foresters  should 
not  eventually  be  employed  wherever  forests  occur,  and 
this  means  practically  throughout  the  country,  except  in 
the  Great  Plains  and  in  the  farming  regions  of  the  Cen- 
tral States  and  Middle  West. 

Generally  speaking,  a  forester  must  be  able-bodied  and 
in  good  physical  health.  He  must  have  a  strong  heart, 
sound  lungs,  and  a  constitution  able  to  stand  exposure  to 
all  kinds  of  wind  and  weather.  Heart  disease,  tubercu- 
losis, and  other  serious  organic  troubles  are  handicaps 
that  point  to  the  choice  of  another  occupation. 

Forestry  requires  the  services  of  three  more  or  less  dis- 
tinct grades  of  workers  —  the  professional  forester,  the 
forest  ranger,  and  the  forest  guard. 

The  professional  forester  handles  the  larger  and  more 
technical  phases  of  forest  management.  He  determines 
what  the  forest  under  his  charge  contains,  how  much  it 
is  worth,  how  fast  it  is  growing,  when  and  how  it  should 
be  cut,  what  kind  of  trees  should  be  favored,  and  other 


FORESTRY  PURSUITS  73 

questions  of  the  same  kind;  and  he  also  exercises  general 
supervision  over  the  execution  of  whatever  measures  are 
decided  upon. 


SAVING  THE  FORESTS 

The  forest  ranger  acts  as  a  sort  of  semi-technical  as- 
sistant to  the  professional  forester.  He  does  not  need 
so  thorough  an  education  as  the  professional  forester, 


74  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

but  he  must  have  sufficient  technical  knowledge  to  enable 
him  to  carry  out  intelligently  the  plans  formulated  by 
the  latter.  His  work  is  to  a  large  extent  "  practical,"  and 
involves  the  routine  of  fire  protection  and  fire-fighting, 
marking  the  trees  to  be  removed  in  timber  sales,  scaling 
the  felled  logs,  handling  planting  operations,  surveying, 
building  trails,  running  telephone  lines,  and  doing  other 
work  connected  with  the  administration  of  the  forest. 

The  forest  guard  is  ordinarily  a  non-technical  assistant 
who  helps  the  forest  ranger  in  those  aspects  of  his  work 
that  require  little  or  no  knowledge  of  forestry.  Forest 
guards  are  frequently  appointed  for  short  periods  only, 
to  help  the  regular  force  in  the  busy  season,  and  particu- 
larly in  the  work  of  fire  protection  and  fire-fighting. 
Previous  experience  in  the  woods  or  in  similar  occupa- 
tions, such  as  lumbering  and  surveying,  constitutes  a 
valuable,  but  not  essential,  preliminary  training  for  for- 
esters of  all  grades. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  the  professional  forester  was 
almost  unknown  in  this  country,  and  there  was  not  a  sin- 
gle educational  institution  at  which  he  could  secure  the 
necessary  training.  To-day  the  profession  is  well  recog- 
nized, and  there  are  more  than  twenty  schools  offering 
instruction  of  a  grade  similar  to  that  required  of  civil 
engineers,  doctors,  lawyers,  clergymen,  and  other  pro- 
fessional men.  As  a  basis  for  the  more  technical  phases 
of  his  education,  the  man  who  desires  to  become  a  pro- 
fessional forester  must  have  had  courses  of  collegiate 
grade  in  botany,  geology,  prganic  chemistry,  mathema- 
tics, through  trigonometry,  plane  surveying,  mechanical 


FORESTRY  PURSUITS  75 

drawing,  economics,  and  either  French  or  German,  or 
preferably  both.  With  these  as  a  foundation,  he  is  ready 
to  go  ahead  with  the  technical  subjects  such  as  dendrol- 
ogy, silvics,  silviculture,  forest  mensuration,  forest  valu- 
ation, forest  management,  and  forest  regulation. 

Obviously,  a  comprehensive  training  of  this  sort  can 
not  be  obtained  with  less  than  four  years  of  collegiate 
work,  at  least  two  of  which  must  be  devoted  almost  en- 
tirely to  professional  forestry  subjects.  If  a  man  has 
already  had  a  college  education,  however,  he  can  readily 
prepare  himself  for  the  profession  by  two  years  of  post- 
graduate work.  The  degree  of  bachelor  of  science  in 
forestry  is  usually  given  on  the  completion  of  a  four- 
year  professional  course,  and  of  master  of  science  in  for- 
estry, or  master  of  forestry,  on  the  completion  of  a  five- 
year  professional  course  or  of  two  years  of  postgraduate 
work  following  four  years  of  regular  college  work. 

For  the  forest  ranger  no  such  intensive  training  is 
necessary.  With  a  high-school  education  as  a  back- 
ground, one  year  of  rather  elementary  training  in  such 
subjects  as  fire  protection,  surveying,  timber  estimating 
and  scaling,  nursery  practice,  methods  of  planting,  range 
management,  and  report  writing  is  sufficient  to  enable  a 
man  to  qualify.  In  general,  the  course  covers  much  the 
same  ground  as  that  taken  by  the  professional  forester, 
but  in  a  much  briefer  and  more  elementary  way.  Those 
who  have  already  had  considerable  practical  experience 
along  these  lines  can  secure  a  sufficient  foundation  for 
their  work  in  three  or  four  months,  although  even  for 
such  men  the  longer  course  is  preferable  if  time  to  take 


76  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

it  can  be  found.  Many  of  the  forest  schools  of  the  coun- 
try now  offer  courses  of  this  sort,  and  the  opportunities 
for  instruction  are  ample. 

Since  forest  guards  are  engaged  almost  wholly  on  non- 
technical work,  no  particular  course  of  training  is  neces- 
sary. No  one  with  any  ambition,  however,  would  wish 
to  remain  a  forest  guard  indefinitely  when  other  oppor- 
tunities are  open  to  him  merely  by  taking  a  free  course 
of  instruction.  If  one  wishes  to  take  up  forestry,  there- 
fore, and  is  not  in  a  position  to  take  the  professional 
course,  he  should  by  all  means  attempt  to  qualify  as  a 
forest  ranger.  Should  lack  of  other  openings  then  make 
it  necessary  .for  him  to  serve  as  a  forest  guard  for  the 
time  being,  he  would  be  in  a  position  to  take  advantage 
of  the  first  opportunity  for  advancement. 

Opportunities  for  employment  of  foresters  may  be 
classed  as  fairly  good.  The  national  forests  already  offer 
opportunities  for  the  employment  of  many  men,  and  it 
can  not  be  doubted  that  similar  opportunities  will  soon  be 
offered  in  State  forests  as  well,  as  in  the  case  of  forests 
still  in  the  hands  of  private  owners.  With  the  steady 
decrease  in  the  timber  supply,  the  nation  will  soon  be  face 
to  face  with  the  necessity  of  practising  forestry  exten- 
sively as  a  national  safeguard;  and,  unless  private  owners 
take  upon  themselves  the  task,  there  is  little  question  but 
that  the  Federal  and  State  governments  will  take  matters 
largely  into  their  own  hands. 

Altogether  it  is  a  safe  prediction  that  any  one  who  de- 
sires to  engage  in  forestry,  and  who  qualifies  himself  for 
the  work,  will  be  able  to  find  employment.  The  entering 
salary  for  forest  guards  in  the  national  service  averages 


FORESTRY  PURSUITS  77 

about  nine  hundred  dollars  a  year  and  for  forest  rangers 
about  eleven  hundred  dollars  a  year.  Technically  trained 
foresters  ordinarily  enter  at  approximately  the  same  sal- 
ary as  forest  rangers,  eleven  or  twelve  hundred  dollars  a 
year,  but  with  greater  opportunities  for  advancement 
later.  In  State  and  private  work  approximately  the  same 
entering  salaries  may  be  expected,  although  some  private 
owners  may  be  unwilling  to  pay  quite  so  much  to  forest 
guards  and  forest  rangers  at  the  start. 

Chances  for  limited  promotion  are  reasonably  good. 
It  should  be  recognized  frankly,  however,  that  one  can  not 
hope  to  get  rich  in  the  profession,  a  comfortable  living 
being  all  that  can  ordinarily  be  looked  forward  to.  In 
exceptional  cases  unusually  able  and  well  qualified  men 
will  doubtless  be  able  to  draw  salaries  of  four  or  five  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year.  The  average  professional  forester, 
however,  can  hardly  hope  to  advance  much  beyond 
twenty-five  or  thirty-five  hundred  dollars  a  year,  except 
by  acquiring  an  interest  in  some  lumber  business  or  in 
the  forest  itself.  For  the  forest  ranger  a  salary  of  fifteen 
or  sixteen  hundred  dollars  may  reasonably  be  looked  for- 
ward to.  Moreover,  this  salary  often  carries  with  it  a 
ranger  station,  which  can  be  occupied  as  long  as  he  stays 
in  the  service,  and  also  an  opportunity  to  produce  some 
crops  for  his  own  use.  Forest  guards  can  hardly  hope 
for  more  than  nine  hundred  or  a  thousand  dollars  a  year. 

In  other  words,  in  forestry,  as  in  all  other  professions, 
the  better  educated  you  are  the  better  are  your  chances 
for  promotion.  Even  at  best,  however,  the  chances  for 
large  salaries  -are  small,  and  men  who  are  bent  on  get- 
ting rich  should  look  elsewhere  for  an  opportunity  to  do 


78  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

so.  On  the  other  hand,  one  who  is  satisfied  to  make  a 
comfortable  living,  to  spend  a  large  part  of  his  life  in 
the  open,  to  occupy  a  responsible  and  respected  place  in 
his  community,  and  to  enjoy  the  satisfaction  that  comes 
from  having  an  important  share  in  a  work  of  great  pub- 
lic service,  can  not  look  for  a  more  congenial  or  attractive 
occupation  than  forestry. 

CAPTAIN  S.  T.  DANA, 

U.  S.  Forestry  Service. 


EMPLOYMENT  MANAGEMENT 

A  GREAT  deal  of  thought  is  now  being  given  by 
American  business  men  to  the  subject  of  em- 
ployment management.  At  one  time  the  labor  problem 
seemed  to  be  solely  a  matter  of  the  policies  of  organized 
labor  and  the  methods  of  industrial  warfare.  It  now 
shows  itself  to  be  chiefly  a  question  of  the  intelligent 
handling  of  the  human  relations  that  result  from  the 
normal  course  of  business,  day  by  day.  It  has  to  do  with 
a  study  of  the  requirements  of  each  occupation,  the  care- 
ful selection  of  men  for  their  work,  their  adequate  train- 
ing, the  fixing  of  just  wages,  the  maintenance  of  proper 
working  conditions,  and  the  protection  of  man  against 
undue  fatigue,  accidents,  disease,  and  the  demoralizing 
influences  of  a  narrow  and  inadequate  life,  and  the  open- 
ing of  a  channel  through  which  employees  may  reach  the 
ear  of  the  management  for  the  expression  of  dissatisfac- 
tion with  its  labor  policies. 

Hitherto,  executive  control  in  business  has  been  exer- 
cised through  three  main  divisions  of  administration : 

(1)  Finance  —  in  charge  of  a  treasurer  or  president. 

(2)  Manufacturing  —  in  charge  of  a  general  manager 

or  general  superintendent. 

(3)  Sales  —  in  charge  of  a  sales  manager. 

To  these  general  divisions  industrial  enterprise  is  now 
adding  a  fourth  —  employment  management,  or,  as  it  is 
sometimes  called,  supervision  of  personnel.  In  the  em- 

79 


8o  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

ployment  department  of  a  business  are  gathered  all  the  ac- 
tivities that  have  to  do  with  the  human  relations  —  hir- 
ing, education,  promotion,  discipline,  discharge,  wage- 
setting,  pensions,  sick  benefits,  housing,  etc.  To  bring 
all  these  matters  together  under  one  head,  and  provide 
each  subsection  with  specialists,  is  a  great  step  toward 
scientific  industrialism. 

Industrial  experience  has  proved  the  advantage  of  a 
separate  department  equipped  to  deal  with  questions  of 
personnel.  The  prompt  discovery  and  analysis  of  un- 
favorable working  conditions  can  be  made  only  by  a 
central  bureau.  Most  of  the  approved  methods  of  deal- 
ing equitably  with  the  working  force  have  been  devised 
or  brought  to  notice  by  the  new  type  of  industrial  special- 
ist. 

The  primary  functions  of  an  employment  manager  are 
to  hire  shop  employees  (and  often  office  employees  also), 
to  superintend  transfers  and  discharges,  to  assist  in  de- 
termining rates  of  pay,  to  study  the  causes  of  labor  turn- 
over and  absenteeism  and  strive  to  reduce  them,  to  adjust 
grievances,  and  to  recommend  changes  in  working  condi- 
tions that  will  eliminate  fatigue  and  accidents,  or  will 
improve  the  health  and  spirit  of  the  force. 

In  performing  these  functions,  the  employment  man- 
ager will  need  to  organize  a  staff  and  provide  himself 
with  proper  office  aids.  He  will  require  a  set  of  labor 
records  that  will  reveal  for  each  department  of  the  busi- 
ness the  degree  of  efficiency  being  attained  in  the  utiliza- 
tion of  labor.  He  will  analyze  the  sources  of  labor  sup- 
ply, and  make  studies  upon  which  job  specifications, 
which  set  forth  the  qualifications  required  for  each  task, 


EMPLOYMENT  MANAGEMENT         81 

can  be  based.  He  will  install  such  methods  of  physical 
and  mental  examination  as  will  safeguard  the  force 
against  the  hazards  of  the  occupation  and  the  hazard  of 
employment  with  men  unfitted  for  their  work. 

To  the  employment  manager  often  falls  the  function 
of  supervising  the  training  of  employees  by  apprentice- 
ship, in  vestibule  or  shop  schools,  or  by  Americanization 
programs. 

The  employment  manager  should  be  the  chief  agency 
of  his  corporation  in  forming  and  executing  the  policies 
that  may  be  adopted  for  keeping  the  worker  up  to  the 
standard.  These  efforts  may  take  any  one  of  a  variety 
of  forms.  In  one  plant  a  mutual  benefit  organization 
may  be  a  success ;  elsewhere  local  transportation  may  be  a 
serious  problem,  or  a  recreational  or  thrift  campaign  may 
occupy  the  greatest  amount  of  attention.  Each  indus- 
trial situation  requires  particular  study.  The  prescrip- 
tion of  economic  and  social  remedies  should  rest  as 
strictly  upon  diagnosis  as  does  prescription  in  medical 
practice.  This  means  that  the  employment  manager 
should  know  how  to  make  industrial  and  labor  surveys. 

Finally,  in  connection  with  the  government  of  the  shop, 
the  employment  manager  will  have  a  hand  in  drawing 
up  shop  rules,  and  will,  by  means  of  suggestion  systems 
and  control  sheets,  deduce  the  significance  of  complaints 
and  the  causes  of  discharge.  He  will  be  in  contact  with 
shop  committees,  should  such  be  formed.  And  he  will 
be  a  harmonizer  and  mutual  interpreter  in  all  collective 
bargaining  negotiations  with  organizations  of  employees, 
striving  ever  sincerely  to  reach  a  fair  and  permanent 
basis  for  loyal  cooperation. 


82  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

It  will  be  observed  that  most  of  these  functions  are 
not  new  in  industry.  They  are  now  being  gathered  to- 
gether under  one  authority,  so  that  they  may  be  handled 
in  a  more  expert  manner,  harmonized  into  a  consistent 
policy,  and  made  the  definite  responsibility  of  competent 
officers. 

In  such  a  summary  of  possible  activities  as  the  fore- 
going, the  range  of  duties  indicated  is  wider  than  would 
be  actually  undertaken  in  most  individual  cases.  Never- 
theless, the  employment  manager  has  need  of  a  firm  grasp 
on  the  technique  of  his* art,  and  an  acquaintance  with  the 
successful  policies  of  other  employers. 

He  is  called  upon  to  practise  human  engineering,  and 
he  has  a  human  part  in  transforming  the  relation  of 
employer  and  employee  from  a  mere  "  cash  nexus  "  into 
a  satisfying  human  relationship.  Before  the  employ- 
ment manager  there  opens  one  of  the  finest  opportunities 
American  business  life  has  to  offer.  The  employment 
manager  who  measures  up  to  the  new  standards  now 
being  set  is  a  first-class  executive,  standing  on  a  parity 
with  the  sales  manager  or  the  production  engineer.  He 
has  the  more  need  of  talent  because  of  the  newness  of  his 
position;  a  circumstance  that  emphasizes  flexibility  of 
ideas,  the  ability  to  conduct  investigations,  the  courage 
to  be  a  pioneer,  and  the  power  to  command  the  confidence 
of  others  in  his«pioneering. 

Again,  his  position  is  difficult  because  he  stands  be- 
tween parties  that  have  been  traditionally  opposed  to  each 
other,  namely,  capital  and  management  on  the  one  side, 
and  labor  and  craftsmanship  on  the  other.  He  must 
always  perform  the  functions  of  a  mutual  interpreter  and 


EMPLOYMENT  MANAGEMENT         83 

often  those  of  a  peacemaker.  The  successful  employ- 
ment manager  must  be  a  person  exceptionally  fitted  for 
leadership.  He  needs  good  native  ability,  made  service- 
able by  adequate  general  and  special  training.  He  should 
possess  a  well  balanced  and  absolutely  impartial  judg- 
ment. It  is  a  powerful  aid  if  he  possess  humanitarian  in- 
stincts and  a  sympathetic  disposition.  These  must,  how- 
ever, be  real  attributes,  and  not  a  mere  pose  or  policy ; 
for  no  deception  will  long  blind  those  with  whom  he  is 
associated. 

The  person  who  measures  himself  for  this  profession 
should  be  able  to  find  indubitable  testimony  as  to  the 
strength  of  his  own  character  in  the  quality  and  amount 
of  his  achievements,  and  in  the  regard  he  has  been  able 
to  earn  from  responsible  persons  with  whom  he  has  been 
associated.  He  should  find  in  himself,  also,  the  ability 
to  understand  human  nature. 

With  these  endowments  the  employment  manager 
should  couple  sufficient  education  to  avoid  embarrassment 
in  the  oral  or  written  use  of  his  mother  tongue.  His 
education  should  enable  him  to  understand  the  use  of 
general  principles,  avoiding  the  pitfalls  into  which  the 
so-called  "  practical  "  man  has  usually  fallen  when  he 
complains  of  "  theories."  And  this  education  should 
have  had  a  wide  enough  scope  to  enable  him  to  meet  the 
minds  of  others,  and  cement  friendships,  in  a  world  of 
ideas  larger  than  the  details  of  his  work. 

At  present  the   salaries  of   employment  managers  - 
the    great    majority    of    which    probably    fall    between 
twenty-five  hundred  and  six  thousand  dollars  —  are  not 
equal  to  those  commanded  by  sales  managers  and  produc- 


84  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

tion  engineers  of  equal  ability.  This  discrepancy  is  due 
partly  to  the  recentness  of  the  function  and  to  its  more 
subtle  and  indirect  relations  to  the  profit-making  process. 
It  is  due  further  to  the  fact  that  the  work  of  the  employ- 
ment manager  is  a  form  of  social  service  that  is  deeply 
satisfying  to  many  natures,  and  that  in  itself  provides  a 
reward  able  to  compensate  for  some  inadequacy  of  salary. 

EDWARD  D.  JONES. 


FARM  MANAGEMENT 

FARM  management  has  been  defined  as  "  the  science 
of  organization  and  management  of  farm  enter- 
prise for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  greatest  continuous 
profit."  It  is  the  business  end  of  farming.  It  deals  with 
farm  organization,  methods,  accounts,  and  credits,  and 
is  therefore  of  interest  to  all  classes  of  farmers,  including 
owners,  managers,  and  tenants. 

In  agricultural  affairs,  as  they  have  been  carried  on, 
the  lack  of  business  methods  has  been  amazing.  Abso- 
lute mismanagement  has  frequently  been  the  principal 
cause  of  discouragement,  failure,  and  abandonment  of 
farms.  This  influence  has  prevented  many  from  taking 
up  farming.  But  one  who  has  a  genuine  love  for  the 
farm,  and  who  has  or  can  get  some  practical  experience 
on  the  farm,  may  take  a  course  of  intensive  study  in 
farming  and  farm  management  and  then  develop  into  a 
successful  farm  manager.  The  candidate  must  not  for- 
get, however,  that  farm  management  is  a  profession,  and 
that  a  person  without  experience  should  not  expect  to 
become  a  successful  farm  manager  in  a  few  weeks  by 
taking  a  short  course  at  some  agricultural  school.  What 
is  worth  getting  requires  time  and  effort  in  this  as  well 
as  in  other  things. 

Many  who  have  felt  full  confidence  in  farming,  and 
have  invested  their  money  in  it  and  applied  business 
principles  to  it,  have  proved  that  the  same  measure  of 
success  will  attend  farming  under  business  management 
as  attends  other  industries  when  properly  managed. 

85 


86  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

Tens  of  thousands  of  farmers  in  the  United  States  have 
demonstrated  this  by  earning  substantial  profits. 

Whatever  has  been  true  in  the  past,  the  manager  of  a 
farm  to-day  must  be  a  business  man  capable  of  negotiat- 
ing complicated  transactions,  buying  and  selling,  and  at- 
tending to  the  diverse  details  of  organization  and  man- 
agement. 

You  should  consider  well  your  adaptability  for  the  di- 
versifications of  general  farm  life,  your  inclination  to 
acquire  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  principal  affairs 
and  at  least  a  comprehensive  acquaintance  with  every- 
thing relating  to  farming.  As  a  manager  you  must 
keep  accurate  accounts ;  you  must  know  live  stock  as  well 
as  crops;  you  must  be  a  mechanic,  and  ready  to  lend  a 
hand  with  your  laborers  —  in  a  word,  you  must  be  broad- 
mind,ed  and  tactfully  cooperate  with  your  men.  You 
must  have  a  practical  knowledge  of  crops,  of  their  seeding 
and  harvesting,  of  the  principles  of  plant-breeding,  prop- 
agation, and  adaptation  to  soils.  You  must  understand 
animal  husbandry,  breeding,  growing;  and  feeding  the 
animals  produced  to  a  market  finish  or  for  milk  produc- 
tion. 

Variations  in  profits  from  farms  are  more  largely  due 
to  mismanagement  than  to  unfavorable  seasons  or  fluctu- 
ating prices.  Farming  has  become  decidedly  a  business 
proposition.  The  abnormal  demand  now  being  made 
upon  the  United  States  for  food  and  other  agricultural 
products  to  be  consumed  at  home  and  in  European  coun- 
tries makes  the  extensive  application  of  scientific  farming 
imperative. 


FARM  MANAGEMENT  87 

Many  farms,  unprofitable  because  of  mismanagement, 
could  by  reorganization  be  systematized  and  developed 
into  profitable,  lucrative  undertakings.  Accompanying 
this  reorganization,  the  application  of  business  principles 
and  practical  management  to  scientific  methods  is  of 
paramount  importance. 

With  this  better  farming  there  must  be  associated  re- 
liable accounting.  It  is  often  claimed  that  farmers  can 
not  keep  books,  when  as  a  matter  of  fact,  while  they  do 
not  do  bookkeeping  in  the  generally  accepted  term,  nine 
out  of  ten,  from  notes  jotted  down,  have  as  accurate  a 
knowledge  of  the  financial  side  of  their  enterprise  as  the 
majority  of  business  men.  This  has  been  repeatedly 
proved  by  the  hundreds  of  farm  surveys,  representing 
many  States,  by  the  Office  of  Farm  Management  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture,  through  which  it  was  found 
possible  on  almost  every  farm  to  obtain  an  accurate  finan- 
cial statement  from  the  memoranda  kept  by  the  farm- 
owners,  their  managers  or  tenants,  and  to  ascertain  the 
profits. 

Thorough  organization  with  method  and  accounting 
simplifies  management,  curtails  expenses,  makes  possible 
larger  returns  with  less  outlay,  and  establishes  credit, 
which  will  not  longer  be  denied  the  farmer  when  he 
adopts  business  methods  and  can  show  the  bank  his  state- 
ment of  annual  business  condition. 

From  their  ability  to  absorb  money  and  labor  farms 
have  been  likened  to  huge  sponges.  But  the  capable 
manager  can  make  investment  of  money  and  labor  in 
farming  profitable.  Many  farms,  like  some  manufac- 
turing plants,  are  being  run  to  only  half  capacity  or  less 


88  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

by  a  "  one-horse  tenant,"  caretaker,  or  discouraged 
farmer.  They  are  awaiting  men  and  money,  ready  to 
absorb  both,  and  if  they  are  reorganized  and  managed  on 
a  business  basis  they  will  become  highly  profitable. 

Only  60,000  farms  out  of  6,361,000  employed  man- 
agers and  superintendents,  according  to  the  1910  census. 
But  it  is  practically  certain  that  more  than  one  farm  in 
a  hundred  would  have  been  operated  by  managers  had 
there  been  a  larger  number  of  effectively  trained  men 
available  to  men  owning;  or  in  position  to  own,  farms 
large  enough  to  justify  the  employment  of  a  manager. 
With  the  number  of  improved  farms  now  increased  to 
probably  7,000,000,  the  demand  is  greater  for  this  class 
of  trained  men.  The  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the 
State  Agricultural  colleges  report  inability  to  fill  numer- 
ous calls  for  farm  managers  and  superintendents,  and  the 
advertisements  in  the  agricultural  and  live-stock  papers 
for  them  indicate  that  the  demand  continues.  The  small 
percentage  of  profits  from  the  inefficient  management  of 
idle  and  incompetent  tenants  makes  tens  of  thousands  of 
farm-owners  not  living  on  their  places  desirous  of  secur- 
ing active  farm  managers,  capable  of  introducing  sci- 
entific methods. 

We  believe  —  in  fact,  we  know  —  that  there  are  in  the 
country  numerous  "  old-time "  farm-owners  who  are 
barely  making  a  living,  while  their  farms  are  constantly 
depreciating  in  value.  Unquestionably  such  owners 
would  receive  better  returns  by  employing  farm  man- 
agers. The  combination  of  a  number  of  farms  with  co- 
operative handling  under  a  competent  farm  manager, 
on  the  community  principle,  would  reduce  expenses  for 


FARM  MANAGEMENT  89 

machinery,  teams,  and  power,  and  make  possible  more 
economic  employment  of  labor. 

The  existence  of  such  conditions  offers  an  excellent 
field  of  activity  to  the  man  who  is  trained  well  enough 
to  see  and  to  use  these  opportunities.  Knowing  the  pos- 
sibilities, such  a  man  might  be  able  to  convince  the  own- 
ers of  a  number  of  inefficiently  operated  farms  of  the 
advantage  of  having  them  worked  as  a  unit  and  thereby 
get  them  to  adopt  his  plans. 

The  country  is  full  of  landed  estates  of  sufficient  area 
to  justify  the  owners  in  employing  specially  trained  men. 
Syndicates  and  individuals  have  been  for  years  buying 
groups  of  neglected  farms  and  orchards  in  the  Southern 
States.  These  are  almost  invariably  being  handled  by 
scientifically  trained  farm  managers.  The  properties 
have  improved  under  modern  methods  of  culture,  and 
have  in  most  cases  shown  profits  within  two  or  three  , 
years,  notwithstanding  the  necessary  outlay  to  bring  the 
run-down  property  into  productive  condition. 

Large  farms  and  estates  employ  crews  of  men  and  . 
utilize  expensive  equipment.  They  especially  require  the 
services  of  well  trained  and  reliable  farm  managers,  cap- 
able of  selecting  practical  foremen  and  laborers,  and  of 
keeping  well  in  hand  the  details  of  all  farm  processes 
necessary  to  economical  management.  But  good  man- 
agement is  essential  on  small  farms,  operated  by  owners 
or  tenants,  as  well  as  on  large  estates.  The  owner  and 
generally  the  tenant  are  their  own  managers,  and  man- 
aging a  small  farm  well  is  one  way  of  learning  the  pro- 
fession of  the  farm  manager. 

The   small    farmer   as    well  as  the  large  owner  must 


QO  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

consider  well  the  location,  climate,  soil,  lay  of  land, 
wates  supply,  and  other  features  of  his  farm,  in  order 
to  determine  the  most  suitable  type  of  farming  under 
existing  conditions.  He,  as  well  as  the  large  farmer, 
must  keep  accounts,  organize  the  farming  operations  in 
proper  sequence,  determine  upon  cropping,  direct  the 
preparation  of  soil,  fertilizing,  seeding,  cultivating,  har- 
vesting, and  all  the  minor  details  of  live-stock  breeding, 
raising,  and  feeding,  do  the  buying  as  well  as  the  mar- 
keting of  crops,  live-stock,  and  live-stock  products! 

The  farm  manager  must  have  an  intimate  knowledge 
of  tools  and  machinery,  and  an  inclination  to  employ  only 
the  best  and  most  modern  implements,  even  if  special 
financing  for  a  year  or  so  must  be  undertaken  in  order 
to  farm  most  profitably.  Tractors,  modern  machinery, 
and  labor-saving  implements  should  be  studied. 

Opportunity  for  promotion  is  exceptional  in  farm  man- 
agement, and  will  naturally  be  accorded  you  —  in  fact, 
you  will  be  given  preference  —  if  your  efficiency  is  evi- 
dent. Men  with  ideas,  who  think  and  do  things,  are  in 
demand  on  the  farm.  Having  taken  the  vocational  train- 
ing in  farm  management,  having  skipped  no  links  in  the 
chain  of  development,  and  having  acquired  by  reading 
and  observation  all  the  information  pertaining  to  it,  pro-, 
motion  will  be  natural  and  rapid  in  the  occupation  that 
you  have  made  a  specialty,  and  upon  which  you  have 
made  yourself  a  reliable  authority. 

The  salary  paid  is  proportionate  to  experience  and  effi- 
ciency and  commensurate  with  that  of  other  callings.  As 
in  other  occupations,  it  may  be  small  at  the  start,  but  it 
will  increase  with  efficiency.  Commonly  farm  managers 


FARM  MANAGEMENT  91 

and  superintendents  are  receiving  annually  from  one  to 
three  thousand  dollars,  and  on  large  estates  often  four  or 
five  thousand  dollars,  with  many  perquisites,  such  as 
dwelling,  garden  and  truck  land,  fuel,  and  the  privilege 
of  keeping  a  cow,  pigs,  and  poultry.  Farm  foremen  are 
paid  from  five  hundred  to  eighteen  hundred  dollars  with 
perquisites. 

As  in  other  positions,  that  of  manager  and  the  amount 
of  salary  commanded  varies  with  the  magnitude  of  the 
farm  and  the  capacity  of  the  manager  to  develop  himself 
and  the  opportunities  intrusted  to  him.  A  farm-boy, 
after  two  years  in  an  agricultural  college,  took  a  fore- 
man's position,  starting  at  six  hundred  dollars  a  year  and 
perquisites.  The  second  year  he  received  nine  hundred 
dollars,  then  became  manager  at  eighteen  hundred  dol- 
lars, and  now  receives  three  thousand  dollars.  In  five 
years  he  has  quadrupled  his  income. 

A  knowledge  of  the  common-school  branches,  espe- 
cially English,  mathematics  and  current  literature,  will 
greatly  assist  you  in  studying  the  elementary  principles 
of  chemistry;  in  comprehending  the  analysis  of  soil  and 
water,  the  protein  and  carbohydrate  contents  of  the  feeds, 
milk,  and  plants,  quite  necessary  to  the  selection  of  feeds 
for  the  proper  balancing  of  rations;  in  the  understanding 
of  plant  breeding,  growth,  and  propagation;  in  studying 
entomology  and  obtaining  a  practical  knowledge  of  in- 
sects, pests,  diseases,  and  the  bacteria  of  milk,  water,  etc., 
and  in  acquiring  some  knowledge  of  physics  and  its  ap- 
plication to  the  soil,  drainage,  buildings,  machinery,  heat- 
ing, lighting  —  all  vastly  important  to  the  farm  manager. 
WALTER  J.  QUICK,  M.S.,  Ph.D. 


JOURNALISM 

THE  main  purpose  of  a  newspaper  is  to  give  the 
day's  news.  Another  purpose  is  that  of  making 
the  meaning  of  this  news  clear  to  the  readers.  More- 
over, newspapers  often  furnish  their  readers  with  ad- 
vice and  with  useful  information  as  well  as  with  enter- 
taining reading.  There  was  a  time  when  the  purpose  of 
a  newspaper  was  thought  to  be  that  of  simply  stating  con- 
ditions as  they  are.  At  the  present  there  is  a  rapidly 
growing  tendency  to  use  the  newspaper  to  state  condi- 
tions as  they  should  be.  A  newspaper  that  tells  what  to 
do  to  make  things  better  plays  a  great  part  in  making 
democracy  safe. 

In  any  large  newspaper  plant  there  are  three  main  di- 
visions :  the  business  office,  whose  duty  it  is  to  make  the 
paper  pay ;  the  plant,  which  must  see  to  the  actual  print- 
ing of  the  paper;  and  the  editorial  department,  which  pre- 
pares all  of  the  reading  matter  except  the  advertisements. 
It  is  with  the  editorial  department  that  the  term  "  jour- 
nalism "  is  connected. 

There  are  two  classes  of  reading  matter  in  the  news- 
paper, the  news  and  the  editorial  comment,  each  class  of 
material  being  prepared  by  a  different  force  of  writers. 
The  editor-in-chief  is  at  the  head  of  the  editorial  staff; 
and,  since  editorials  consist  of  opinions  rather  than  of 
bare  statements  of  new  facts,  he  holds  the  most  important 

92 


JOURNALISM  93 

position  on  the  paper.  He  is  helped  by  men  who  are  very 
well  informed  about  all  matters  that  are  of  interest  to 
the  public.  The  number  of  these  helpers  is  from  one 
to  a  dozen,  according  to  the  size  of  the  paper. 

The  managing  editor  looks  after  gathering  and  re- 
porting news.  His  department  is  made  up  of  several 
parts,  each  one  in  charge  of  an  editor.  The  news  editor 
looks  after  all  out-of-town  news,  that  is,  news  from  other 
countries  or  from  this  country  outside  of  a  distance 
seventy-five  miles  from  the  city  of  the  newspaper.  The 
telegraph  editor  looks  over  "  copy  "  sent  in  by  outside 
reporters  and  decides  what  is  good  and  what  is  poor. 
The  Sunday  editor  gets  up  the  pictures  and  other  "  fea- 
tures "  and  special  articles  outside  of  strictly  news  arti- 
cles. The  art  editor  decides  upon  the  pictures  to  be  used 
and  the  method  of  making  those  pictures.  The  cable 
editor  prepares  the  foreign  news  by  filling  in  cable  mes- 
sages and  making  long  articles  out  of  them.  The  city 
editor  hires  and  directs  reporters  on  city  work  and  on 
work  outside  the  city  but  within  a  distance  of  seventy- 
five  miles,  having  sometimes  as  many  as  seventy-five 
helpers  within  the  city,  and  as  many  as  that  outside, 
called  "  local  correspondents."  The  sporting  editor  looks 
after  news  of  sports,  and  has  an  assistant  for  each  kind 
of  sport.  The  night  city  editor  covers  late  news,  being 
in  charge  after  6  P.  M.  to  receive  copy  brought  in  by  re- 
porters previously  assigned  to  their  duty  by  the  city  edi- 
tor. The  night  editor  is  in  charge  of  the  "  make-up  "  of 
the  paper  and  the  getting  of  the  paper  to  press. 

Most  newspapers  also  have  other  editors,  called  de- 
partment editors,  for  such  departments  as  music,  drama, 


94  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

society,  finance,  literary  criticism,  railroads,  real  estate, 
and  stock  markets.  The  department  editors  gather  as 
much  of  their  news  as  possible  by  themselves.  Their 
work  differs  from  that  of  other  editors  in  that  their  copy 
goes  directly  to  the  printer  and  is  not  first  looked  over 
and  corrected  by  the  city  editor. 

The  life  of  a  newspaper  man  is  not  an  easy  life.  A 
study  of  newspaper  work  in  Boston  sums  up  the  hard- 
ships and  difficulties  in  the  life  of  a  reporter  in  the  fol- 
lowing way: 

"  The  hours  are  long  and  irregular.  On  a  morning 
paper  they  run  from  one  in  the  afternoon  until  midnight, 
usually  with  an  occasional  evening  off.  But  the  free  eve- 
nings can  never  be  counted  on  in  advance ;  they  come  only 
when  the  news  happens  to  be  slack.  On  the  afternoon 
papers  the  hours  are  almost  as  bad ;  for,  while  they  are 
supposed  to  be  from  half-past  eight  or  nine  to  five,  an 
assignment  will  very  often  come  in  at  the  last  minute  that 
will  keep  the  reporter  out  until  midnight.  This  means 
little  or  no  freedom. 

'  The  irregular  hours  also  affect  the  meals.  An  as- 
signment often  takes  the  reporter  out  into  the  suburbs  for 
hours  at  a  stretch,  where  there  are  no  restaurants,  and 
where  one  can  only  work  as  fast  as  possible  in  order  to 
get  back  to  town.  It  means  all  kinds  of  weather,  too; 
for  suicides  and  elopements  will  occur,  be  it  fair  day  or 
foul,  in  houses  several  miles  from  the  nearest  car  track, 
and  they  have  to  be  looked  up  at  once.  A  long,  hard  trip, 
like  this,  is  not  only  an  every-day  matter,  but  it  means  no 
extra  pay." 


JOURNALISM  95 

The  desk  man  or  editor,  while  freed  from  the  hard- 
ships of  travel,  has  other  difficulties  to  overcome.  The 
difficulties  are  set  forth  in  the  following  further  quota- 
tion from  the  same  report : 

"  As  the  time  for  going  to  press  approaches,  the  copy 
pours  in  faster  and  faster,  the  composing-room  signals 
that  the  paper  is  already  overset,  and  yet  perhaps  now, 
at  the  last  minute,  an  item  of  first  importance  in  the  whole 
day's  events  comes  in,  and  room  must  be  made  for  it.  In 
the  midst  of  all  this  clamor  the  desk  man  must  keep  his 
head,  racing  through  the  piles  of  copy,  weighing  its  merits 
discriminately  and  giving  as  cool  and  careful  decision  as 
though  he  had  all  the  leisure  and  quiet  in  the  world." 

One  must  have  good  health  to  stand  the  hardships  and 
irregular  hours  of  work,  under  bad  conditions,  often 
long  distances  from  the  office  and  in  all  kinds  of  weather. 
There  are  also  certain  personal  qualifications  that  one 
must  have  to  succeed  in  the  field  of  journalism.  Chief 
among  these  personal  qualifications  is  the  ability  to  adapt 
one's  self  to  many  different  subjects  and  to  feel  at  home 
in  each. 

Unlike  writers  in  other  fields,  the  reporter  is  a  writer 
of  matter  that  lives  to-day  and  is  dead  to-morrow.  He 
is  not  as  much  in  need,  therefore,  of  the  artistic  quality 
in  his  writing  as  he  is  in  need  of  the  ability  to  pass 
quickly  from  subject  to  subject,  writing  briefly  but  to  the 
point  on  each. 

Another  thing  one  must  have  for  success  in  journalism 
is  what  may  be  termed  the  "  news  instinct  " ;  that  is  the 


9.6  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

ability  to  recognize  news  in  any  form  even  in  the  most 
commonplace  events,  and  to  write  up  these  commonplace 
things  in  cuch  a  way  as  to  interest  the  reader.  This 
ability  is  not  found  in  the  person  who  does  not  observe 
carefully. 

A  clear,  easy  style  full  of  dash  is  necessary  for  the  re- 
porter. This  style  can  usually  be  gained  with  a  little 
practice  by  the  man  or  woman  with  a  sense  for  news. 
The  reporter's  main  aim  is  to  catch  the  public  eye;  after 
that  he  needs  most  to  produce  copy  at  great  speed,  re- 
membering all  the  while  that  his  work  is  not  likely  to  be 
read  more  than  once. 

Other  qualifications  a  reporter  should  have  are  intel- 
ligence and  an  understanding  of  people.  He  must  have 
tact,  and  be  a  "  good  mixer,"  capable  of  easily  gaining  the 
confidence  of  people  in  order  to  draw  them  out  in  his 
search  for  news. 

A  college  education  is  a  help,  of  course,  but  it  is  not 
absolutely  necessary  in  the  journalistic  profession.  One 
who  wishes  to  become  a  journalist  may  enter  the  news- 
paper field  as  a  reporter  at  almost  any  time  after  he  has 
had  enough  experience  and  general  knowledge  to  make 
him  well  acquainted  with  a  number  of  subjects,  and  when, 
in  addition  to  this,  he  has  learned  to  write  his  thoughts 
in  clear,  forceful  language.  Certainly  a  grade  education 
is  necessary  and  some  high-school  education  is  advisable 
for  the  beginner.  More  and  more,  as  the  field  of  news- 
paper work  enlarges  and  broadens,  a  full  four-year  high 
school  course  is  becoming  essential.  The  best  opportuni- 
ties will  more  and  more  open  up  only  to  those  of  wide 
experience  and  knowledge.  Toward  this  experience  and 


JOURNALISM  97 

knowledge  a  college  education  adds  very  much,  particu- 
larly if  the  college  education  deals  with  the  theory  and 
methods  of  newspaper  organization,  as  well  as  with  prac- 
tical training  in  reporting  and  in  editing  work.  Whether 
the  foundation  education  is  obtained  in  the  grade  school, 
in  the  high  school,  or  in  the  college,  one  must  have  ac- 
quired somewhere  along  the  line  the  ability  to  write  cor- 
rectly and  briefly  in  language  that  can  not  be  misunder- 
stood. Much  of  the  ability  to  do  this -comes  from  the 
practical  school  of  experience.  Much  of  it,  however,  can 
be  given  in  schools.  More  and  more  the  emphasis  is 
being  placed  upon  thorough  preparation  before  entering 
the  profession  of  journalism. 

Once  the  college  man  in  a  newspaper  office  was  re- 
garded as  a  joke  by  others  in  the  office.  They  sneered 
at  his  style.  Two  things  have  happened  to  change  that 
feeling.  In  the  first  place,  college  men  are  now  trained 
in  a  simpler  style  of  writing  than  they  formerly  were. 
In  addition  to  that,  they  now  get  more  practical  train- 
ing than  they  did.  Besides  this,  so  many  college  trained 
men  have  done  well  in  journalism  that  newspaper  men 
are  beginning  to  see  that  their  success  is  due  largely  to 
the  college  training.  On  many  papers  to-day  one  will 
find  the  staff  made  up  very  largely  of  college  men.  On 
many  papers  now,  when  they  are  looking  for  a  new  man 
for  the  writing  force,  they  look  for  a  man  with  a  col- 
lege degree. 

Since  the  beginning  of  the  Pulitzer  School  of  Journal- 
ism at  Columbia  University  in  New  York,  about  twenty 
other  colleges  and  universities  have  added  courses  in 
journalism.  One  of  the  requirements  for  entering  these 


98  OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

courses  is  four  years  of  high  school  work.  The  course 
itself  ranges  from  courses  of  lectures  by  newspaper  men 
to  a  complete  course,  four  years  in  length,  which  usually 
leads  to  a  bachelor  of  arts  degree,  or  its  equivalent.  In- 
struction in  journalism  includes  a  study  of  the  English 
language,  literature,  and  composition,  the  work  of  the 
reporter  and  editorial  writer,  the  methods  of  gathering 
news,  the  technique  of  newspaper  making,  the  general 
management  of  papers,  the  history  of  journalism,  to- 
gether with  general  history,  economics,  sociology,  and 
psychology.  Typewriting  and  sometimes  stenography 
are  required  for  graduation.  The  college  work  in  jour- 
nalism is  accompanied  by  actual  experience  on  papers, 
either  college  publications  or  papers  published  in  the  city 
or  town  in  which  the  college  is  located.  Students  trained 
in  such  courses  know  how  to  write  a  story,  how  to  plan 
a  headline,  and  how  to  write  editorials,  and  men  so 
trained  get  promotions  in  shorter  periods  of  time  than 
others. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  journalists  who  have  not  the 
chance  to  take  the  full  college  course,  several  phases  of 
journalism  are  given  in  the  summer  schools  of  many  col- 
leges, and  special  courses  in  newspaper  and  magazine 
writing  are  given  in  evening  schools.  Such  courses  can 
be  taken  at  the  same  time  that  one  is  employed  on  a 
newspaper. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  journalism  calls  more  and 
more  for  education  and  training  before  one  begins  actual 
'work  as  a  regular  reporter  on  a  paper. 

In  few  vocations  is  there  greater  differences  in  sal- 
aries than  in  the  field  of  journalism.  There  does  not 


JOURNALISM  99 

seem  to  be  any  general  standard  that  all  the  newspapers 
of  the  country  attempt  to  live  up  to.  The  managers  of 
certain  newspapers  follow  the  practice  of  employing  only 
experienced  men,  taking  them  wherever  they  can  be  found 
from  the  staffs  of  other  newspapers.  Such  papers,  of 
course,  pay  good  salaries.  Other  publications  are  willing 
to  take  on  a  few,  or  even  a  large  number,  of  beginners. 
Such  beginners  in  journalism  are  usually  paid  twelve  or 
eighteen  dollars  a  week  on  the  daily  papers,  though  some 
receive  as  low  as  ten  dollars  a  week. 

Promotions  are  very  rapid,  and  any  one  with  promise 
can  hope  to  get  a  rise  in  salary  from  time  to  time  until 
it  reaches  from  twenty  to  thirty  dollars  a  week,  which 
is  the  salary  of  regular  reporters.  Reporters  who  do 
special  work  are  generally  paid  more.  Their  salaries 
range  from  thirty  to  sixty  dollars  a  week.  On  the  very 
best  papers  there  are  very  few  reporters  who  draw  sal- 
aries ranging  from  thirty-five  to  sixty  dollars  a  week. 
Such  men  are  as  well  paid  as  men  in  the  editorial  depart- 
ment. The  chiefs  of  the  different  editorial  departments 
draw  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  dollars  a  week.  Man- 
aging editors  and  editors-in-chief  get  salaries  all  the  way 
from  two  thousand  to  ten  thousand  .dollars  a  year. 

There  are  other  lines  of  work  far  easier  to  master  and 
more  certain  to  bring  large  money  rewards  than  journal- 
ism. The  tendency  now,  however,  is  to  pay  bigger  sal- 
aries to  newspaper  men.  As  it  is,  the  income  is  greater 
than  that  of  the  clergyman  and  equal  to  that  of  the  law- 
yer. 

With  many  men  in  journalistic  work,  however,  ideals 
mean  more  than  money.  The  public  good,  with  such 


ioo         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

men,  means  more  than  private  gain.  Another  reward  in 
this  profession  is  that  he  comes  in  contact  with  mature 
people.  He  learns  to  know  personally  many  of  the  great 
men  in  business,  in  politics,  in  law. 

The  newspaper  is  one  of  the  greatest  educational 
agencies.  It  does  for  the  adult  in  an  educational  way 
what  the  public  school  does  for  children.  Among  the 
mature  there  are  masses  of  ignorant  people,  ignorant  in 
letters  and  ignorant  in  citizenship.  The  journalist, 
through  the  newspaper,  has  thousands  of  people  for  his 
audience.  Through  his  opportunity  for  instruction  the 
journalist  may  exercise  great  influence  in  politics  in  con- 
nection with  work  for  municipal  reform,  clean  streets, 
or  better  schools,  and  against  machine  control  in  politics, 
with  its  bribery  and  election  frauds.  Especially  is  the 
opportunity  for  such  influence  by  the  journalist  good  in 
America,  where  there  are  twice  as  many  papers  published 
as  in  any  other  country,  and  far  more  than  twice  as  many 
copies  issued.  It  is  estimated  that  more  than  five  billion 
copies  of  newspapers  of  all  kinds  are  printed  in  the 
United  States  yearly. 

Very  often  men  who  have  been  successful  in  early  life 
as  newspaper  reporters  take  up  magazine  writing  later. 
It  is  often  stated  that  magazine  writing  is  postgraduate 
newspaper  work.  The  monthly  magazine  has  become  an 
important  influence  in  the  modern  world,  many  of  the 
more  popular  magazines  having  a  larger  circulation  than 
any  newspaper.  On  the  staff  of  each  periodical  there 
are  usually  several  special  editors  in  charge  of  separate 
departments.  These  editors  are  often  assisted  by  a  reg- 
ular staff  of  writers.  Frequently,  however,  those  who 


JOURNALISM  101 

write  for  magazines  are  not  connected  with  the  regular 
staff,  but  are  "  free-lances,"  contributing  articles  from 
time  to  time  on  subjects  that  they  are  especially  fitted  to 
write  about. 

The  whole  field  of  journalism  is  constantly  enlarging, 
and  the  claim  is  made  by  those  who  are  expert  in  the 
field  that  the  profession  is  not  overcrowded  with  good 
workers. 

Dr.  H.  L.  SMITH. 


I 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  MEDICINE 

THE  work  of  the  physician  is  twofold.  It  is  his 
duty  to  cure  those  who  are  sick,  and  to  keep  the 
well  from  becoming  sick.  Usually  he  is  not  called  upon 
until  there  is  an  illness,  so  that  the  bulk  of  his  work  is 
with  the  sick.  There  are  two  general  fields  of  activity 
for  a  physician  —  that  of  the  general  practitioner,  and 
that  of  the  specialist.  Physicians  in  rural  communities 
and  small  towns  and  cities  must  be  prepared  to  deal  with 
any  type  of  accident  or  disease.  In  cities  the  tendency 
is  to  specialize  in  some  particular  disease  or  on  dis- 
turbances connected  with  some  particular  part  of  the 
body.  Some  specialists  in  large  cities  are  able  to  con- 
fine their  activities  to  office  work  altogether. 

The  work  of  the  physician  is  difficult.  There  is  a  great 
mental  strain  connected  with  his  work,  for  often  the  life 
of  the  'patient  is  at  stake.  With  the  general  practitioner 
there  is  a  great  physical  strain  due  to  irregular  meals  and 
sleep,  and  trips  in  all  kinds  of  weather.  Particularly  is 
this  true  of  the  practice  of  medicine  for  its  curative  ef- 
fects. In  modern  times  more  and  more  thought  is  being 
directed  to  preventive  medicine,  that  is,  to  ways  and 
means  of  keeping  well  rather  than  of  getting  well.  The 
preventive  work  can  be  done  under  conditions  more 
nearly  those  that  the  physican  himself  chooses  rather 
than  under  conditions  forced  upon  him,  as  is  usual  in  the 
case  of  curative  work. 

103 


104         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

Of  all  the  professions,  the  practice  of  medicine  makes 
the  greatest  demand  for  a  good,  sound  body.  In  some 
professions  a  man  with  even  severe  physical  defects  can, 
through  careful  living,  be  successful.  Good  health,  how- 
ever, is  essential  to  the  physician  if  he  is  successfully  to 
withstand  the  long  periods  of  strain,  the  irregular  hours 
for  meals  and  sleep,  the  bad  weather  he  is  often  forced 
to  go  out  in,  and  the  dangers  of  infection. 

Not  only  must  the  physician  be  physically  fit  —  he 
must  have  a  natural  aptitude  and  love  for  his  profession. 
He  should  care  more  for  medicine  than  for  any  other 
calling  in  life.  By  natural  aptitude  for  medicine  is  meant 
certain  foundation  qualities  that  are  essential. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  physician,  because  of 
his  close  relationship  with  his  patients,  must  be  of  the 
highest  moral  character  in  order  to  gain  and  retain  their 
confidence.  A  kindly  and  tactful  manner  are  essential 
also  in  gaining  this  confidence.  One  must  be  alert,  too, 
particularly  at  the  present  time,  when  rapid  advances  are 
being  made  in  medicine  —  more  rapid  than  in  many  other 
professions.  Self-reliance  is  essential  in  medicine,  be- 
cause unexpected  situations  are  constantly  arising,  and 
emergencies,  too,  in  which  the  help  of  other  physicians 
can  not  readily  be  gained.  To  practise  medicine  success- 
fully one  must  be  constantly  learning.  Because  of  the 
rapid  changes  in  medical  science,  one's  apprenticeship  is 
never  completed.  Each  day  some  new  method  or  means 
of  treatment  must  be  mastered.  Moreover,  one's  work  is 
never  ended.  One  great  element  of  success  is  faithful- 
ness to  the  patients  one  already  has.  This  means  love 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  MEDICINE        105 

for  the  work  and  enthusiasm  for  the  idea  of  service  to 
mankind. 

Among  the  characteristics  that  lead  to  failure  in  the 
practice  of  medicine  are  dislike  of  the  work,  inability  to 
decide  quickly  and  definitely,  and  lack  of  ability  to  get 
along  well  with  other  practitioners  and  with  patients. 

As  a  basis  for  a  course  in  medicine,  one  must  have 
completed  not  only  the  eight  grades  of  common-school 
work,  but  the  four  years  of  high  school.  Twenty-eight 
medical  schools  require  two  years  of  college  work  for 
entrance,  and  there  is  some  tendency  to  require  even  four 
years  of  college  work.  This  tendency,  however,  will 
probably  not  grow  very  fast.  Certainly,  if  the  require- 
ment is  made,  it  can  not  be  a  hard-and-fast  rule,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  it  would  raise  the  age  of  graduation 
from  the  medical  school  to  a  point  higher  than  the  age 
at  which  it  is  wise  for  one  to  begin  practice. 

The  question  of  what  subjects  should  be  taken  in  pre- 
medical  work  is  also  very  important.  Not  long  ago  some 
three  hundred  graduates  of  the  Harvard  Medical  School 
were  asked  to  fill  out  answers  to  questions,  giving  their 
opinions  in  regard  to  the  value  of  their  pre-medical  edu- 
cation. They  were  asked  to  state  whether  they  thought 
it  best  in  this  pre-medical  work  to  have  a  large  amount  of 
general  culture,  such  as  history,  philosophy,  economics, 
literature,  and  art,  or  a  large  amount  of  natural  science, 
such  as  physics,  chemistry,  and  biology.  Of  the  three 
hundred  reporting,  one  hundred  and  twenty  favored  a 
large  amount  of  science,  while  one  hundred  and  ten 
favored  a  large  amount  of  general  culture.  Seventy  fa- 


io6         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

vored  an  equal  amount  of  general  science  and  culture.  It 
would  seem,  therefore,  that,  according  to  the  present 
opinion,  there  should  be  an  equal  amount  of  general  cul- 
ture and  science  in  one's  college  education  previous  to 
taking  up  the  special  training  in  medicine. 

At  the  present  time  one  can  not  hope  to  get  a  satis- 
factory medical  education  without  taking  a  full  four- 
year  course  in  the  medical  school.  The  course  of  study 
in  American  schools  of  medicine  at  present  is  definitely 
laid  out,  and  one  can  know  beforehand  just  what  sub- 
jects will  have  to  be  taken.  Even  at  the  end  of  the  four- 
year  course  in  medicine  it  is  not  advisable  to  begin  the 
practice  of  medicine  immediately.  Those  who  are  look- 
ing for  good  positions  in  the  profession  should  add  to  the 
theory  gained  in  college  some  actual  practice.  The  best 
way  to  get  this  practical  work  is  to  serve  as  an  interne 
in  a  hospital.  Appointments  to  such  positions  are  often 
made  on  the  basis  of  an  examination.  Such  positions  last 
sometimes  for  one  year  and  sometimes  for  two  years. 

In  the  first  period  of  his  work  in  the  hospital  an  in- 
terne is  directed  to  some  extent  by  other  physicians,  but 
largely  by  his  senior  internes.  In  the  last  six  months  of 
his  experience  as  an  interne,  however,  when  he  is  usually 
acting  as  the  house  doctor  or  surgeon,  he  is  shown  espe- 
cial attention  by  physicians  and  surgeons  who  have  pa- 
tients in  the  hospital..  There  is  generally  no  pay  given 
the  interne,  aside  from  board  and  lodging.  The  period 
in  which  one  acts  as  an  interne  is  considered  as  a  further 
educational  period.  It  has  been  said  that  the  experience 
gained  in  the  two  years'  interneship  to  New  York  City's 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  MEDICINE        107 

largest  hospital  is  considered  equal  to  that  acquired  in  ten 
years  of  ordinary  undirected  practice. 

But,  even  after  a  doctor  actually  begins  the  practice 
of  medicine,  his  education  is  not  complete.  In  order  to 
keep  up  with  the  times  he  must  do  a  great  deal  of  read- 
ing. He  must  attend  district  medical  meetings,  and  also 
State  and  national  meetings.  Moreover,  he  should  visit 
other  cities  and  thus  come  in  contact  with  the  ideas  of 
practitioners  in  other  communities. 

An  ideal  standard  of  medical  education  is  outlined  in 
the  following  quotation : 

'  The  American  Medical  Association's  ideal  standard 
of  medical  education,  as  set  forth  by  the  Council  on  Med- 
ical Education  after  years  of  extensive  study,  research, 
and  investigation,  is  given  herewith : 

"(a)  Preliminary  education  sufficient  to  enable  the 
candidate  to  enter  our  recognized  universities,  such  quali- 
fications to  be  passed  upon  by  the  State  authorities. 

"(b)  A  course  of  at  least  one  year  to  be  devoted  to 
physics,  chemistry,  and  biology,  such  arrangements  to  be 
made  that  this  year  could  be  taken  either  in  a  college  of 
liberal  arts  or  in  the  medical  school. 

"(c)  Four  years  in  pure  medical  work,  the  first  two 
of  which  should  be  largely  spent  in  laboratories  on  anat- 
omy, physiology,  pathology,  pharmacology,  etc.,  and  the 
last  two  years  in  close  contact  with  patients  in  dispen- 
saries and  hospitals  in  the  study  of  medicine,  surgery  in 
its  various  branches,  and  the  specialties. 

"(d)  A  sixth  year  as  an  interne  in  a  hospital  of  dis- 
pensary should  then  complete  the  medical  course.  Under 


io8         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

such  procedure  the  majority  of  students  should  begin  the 
study  of  medicine  at  about  eighteen  years  and  graduate 
from  the  hospital  interneship  at  about  twenty-five." 

The  practice  of  medicine  does  not  hold  out  the  hope 
of  any  great  financial  reward.  There  are  some  medical 
practitioners  who  have  made  small  fortunes  in  their  prac- 
tice, but  such  cases  are  rare.  The  ordinary  practitioner 
can  not  count  on  much  more  than  a  comfortable  living,  in 
accordance  with  the  living  standards  in  the  community  in 
which  he  lives.  Not  only  is  the  physician's  compensation 
generally  small,  but  it  is  uncertain  as  well. 

The  fact  that  the  physician's  work  has  a  great  effect 
upon  the  length  of  life  of  the  patient  is  in  itself  a  great 
reward.  In  the  past  three  centuries  medical  science  has 
made  so  great  an  advance  that  the  average  working  life 
of  the  English-speaking  people  has  been  almost  doubled. 
The  things  that  have  added  to  this  increased  length  of 
life  are  physical  comfort,  medicine,  hygiene,  and  surgery. 
Aside  from  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  length  of  life  in- 
creased, the  worthy  physician  enjoys  the  satisfaction  of 
holding  a  position  of  trust  and  leadership  in  his  com- 
munity. 

It  has  been  said  that  in  America  the  number  of  doc- 
tors, in  proportion  to  the  number  of  people,  is  greater 
than  in  any  other  country.  A  recent  study  shows  that 
there  were  in  the  United  States  151,132  practising  phy- 
sicians and  surgeons,  16,920  students  in  medical  schools, 
and  6,955  instructors  in  medical  schools.  Before  the 
European  war  the  supply  of  physicians  in  the  United 
States  was  large — so  large,  in  fact,  that  the  income  of 
physicians  was  being  materially  affected  thereby.  As  a 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  MEDICINE        109 

result  of  the  war,  however,  new  fields  of  practice  will 
be  opened  for  American  physicians  in  other  countries, 
because  of  the  fact  many  physicians  in  those  countries 
were  either  killed  or  disabled,  and  also  because  students 
have  not  been  graduating  from  the  medical  schools  in 
those  countries  in  the  past  few  years. 

DR.  H.  L.  SMITH. 


THE  LAW  AS  A  VOCATION 

THE  work  of  the  law  is  to  establish  rights, 
satisfy  claims,  protect  the  innocent  against 
wrongdoers,  secure  convictions  for  the  guilty,  and  to 
maintain  a  cause  in  the  face  of  all  forms  of  opposition 
and  misrepresentation."  The  profession  of  law,  there- 
fore, is  a  profession  of  action  rather  than  inaction,  of 
fighting  for  a  cause.  In  this  fight  the  lawyer  finds  his 
work  in  two  rather  distinct  fields  —  office  practice  and 
court  practice.  Office  practice  again  subdivides  itself 
into  practice  of  a  public  nature  and  practice  of  a  private 
nature.  Office  practice  of  a  private  nature  consists  very 
largely  in  the  examination  of  titles  to  property,  the  draft- 
ing of  legal  papers  such  as  deeds  and  contracts,  the  act- 
ing as  trustee  or  guardian,  .the  collection  of  accounts,  and 
the  giving  of  general  legal  advice.  In  the  office  practice 
of  a  public  nature,  the  lawyer  acts  as  public  adminis- 
trator, referee  in  bankruptcy  proceedings,  or  auditor  of 
public  accounts. 

In  the  field  of  court  practice  the  lawyer  deals  with 
criminal  cases,  damage  suits,  etc.  It  is  in  this  field  that 
there  is  the  greatest  nervous  strain,  but  at  the  same  time 
the  greatest  opportunity  for  building  up  a  wide  reputa- 
tion. In  court  practice  an  attorney  conducting  a  case 
usually  consults  other  lawyers  and  has  their  aid  and  coun- 
sel as  associates  in  the  case. 

no 


112         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

Both  in  office  and  court  practice,  lawyers  usually  be- 
come notaries  or  justices  for  the  convenience  of  clients 
in  the  acknowledgment  of  deeds  and  the  making  of  affi- 
davits. Classified  on  a  still  different  basis,  the  principal 
fields  of  practice  in  law  are  five  in  number.  Any  lawyer 
would  usually  have  the  bulk  of  his  practice  in  one  of  these 
five  fields,  acting  in  one  of  the  following  capacities :  gen- 
eral practitioner,  criminal  lawyer,  tort  lawyer,  real-estate 
lawyer,  patent  lawyer.  All  but  the  first  of  these  repre- 
sent specialized  fields. 

The  general  practitioner  performs  various  kinds  of 
legal  services  —  any  kind,  in  fact,  that  may  be  called  for 
in  the  community  in  which  he  lives. 

The  criminal  lawyer  limits  his  practice  chiefly  to  work 
in  criminal  courts,  and  deals  with  offenses  that  have  been 
committed  against  society. 

The  tort  lawyer  deals  with  damage  suits.  The  work 
of  the  tort  lawyer  is  often  divided  into  two  fields,  that  of 
the  plaintiff  lawyer  and  that  of  the  defendant  lawyer. 
The  plaintiff  lawyer  works  for  those  parties  who  are 
claiming  damage.  The  defendant  lawyer  works  for 
those  individuals  or  organizations  that  are  sued  for  dam- 
age. Generally  the  defendant  lawyer  serves  a  'liability 
or  insurance  company,  corporation,  or  other  employer. 

The  real-estate  lawyer  is  engaged  largely  in  examining 
titles,  and  in  acting  as  trustee  and  thus  holding  funds  for 
investment.  His  work  naturally  brings  him  in  close 
touch  with  both  the  buying  and  the  selling -end  of  the 
real-estate  business,  so  that  he  usually  himself  engages  to 
some  extent  in  that  business. 

The  patent  lawyer  assists  in  getting  patents  from  the 


THE  LAW  AS  A  VOCATION  113 

national  government,  and  in  acting  as  an  attorney  in 
patent  cases. 

Certain  personal  qualities  are  fundamental  for  success 
in  the  law;  others,  though  of  high  value,  are  secondary. 

The  fundamental  qualities  are  as  follows : 

Moral  integrity,  worthy  of  the  trust  often  involved  in 
handling  the  property  and  other  interests  of  clients,  or 
able  to  withstand  inducements  to  unprofessional  conduct. 
This  involves  intellectual  honesty. 

Persistence  in  carrying  to  completion  any  piece  of 
work  undertaken.  This  means  unlimited  capacity  for 
hard  work. 

Sound  judgment,  to  take  a  right  and  well  informed 
attitude  in  questions  involving  law  and  facts. 

Self-confidence,  a  belief  in  one's  ability  successfully  to 
handle  a  task  once  entered  upon. 

Concentration,  power  to  bring  all  one's  thought  and 
activities  to  bear  on  a  case  in  hand. 

These  basic  qualities,  with  adequate  training  in  the 
profession,  are  likely  to  bring  at  least  a  fair  degree  of 
success ;  the  lack  of  any  one  of  them  is  a  serious  handicap, 
and  accounts  for  most  failures. 

Some  years  ago  even  the  best  law  schools  did  not  re- 
quire any  definite  amount  of  education  for  entrance  into 
the  school.  In  fact,  many  individuals  with  only  a  com- 
mon-school education  read  law  in  an  office  and  took  up 
the  practice  without  any  training  in  a  law  school.  At 
present,  however,  every  person  looking  forward  to  the 
practice  of  law  is  urged  to  graduate  from  a  law  school. 


H4         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

All  reputable  law  schools  now  require  at  least  a  four- 
year  high-school  course  for  admission.  Many  of  these 
law  schools,  especially  those  connected  with  the  large 
universities,  require,  in  addition  to  the  four-year  high- 
school  work,  one  year,  and  in  some  cases  two  years,  of 
college  work  as  a  preparation.  Two  law  schools  admit 
only  students  who  have  a  college  degree  of  A.B.  or  B.S. 

There  was  a  time  when  by  reading  law  in  an  office  one 
could  get  a  fairly  adequate  training  for  the  practice  of 
law.  Particularly  was  this  true  of  preparation  for  prac- 
tice in  small  towns.  Even  at  the  present  time  this  method 
is  followed  to  some  extent  in  small  towns  that  are  long 
distances  from  law  schools.  The  rapidly  increasing  com- 
plexity of  the  law,  however,  now  virtually  necessitates  at 
least  a  partial  course  in  a  law  school,  and  makes  desirable 
a  complete  course. 

The  method  of  training  for  the  law  now  recommended, 
therefore,  is  training  in  a  law  school  rather  than  in  a  law 
office.  The  practical  experience  of  the  office  has  re- 
cently been  supplied  in  the  best  law  schools  by  the  prac- 
tice court,  thus  doing  away  with  the  former  objection  to 
the  law  school,  namely,  that  it  furnished  to  the  student 
no  experience  in  methods  of  handling  and  conducting 
cases.  Each  State  has  its  own  bar  or  legal  society,  and 
admission  is  granted  to  the  applicant  in  accordance  with 
the  regulations  in  force  in  each  State. 

The  tendency  at  the  present  time  is  to  continue  the  past 
practice  of  raising  standards  of  admission.  This  ten- 
dency has  been  supported  by  the  American  Bar  Associa- 
tion, and  with  its  promise  to  continue  interest  in  this  mat- 
ter it  should  not  be  long  before  there  are  evolved  uniform 


THE  LAW  AS  A  VOCATION          115 

requirements  that  will  constitute  a  national  standard  on  a 
high  plane. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate,  except  very  generally,  what 
the  average  yearly  earnings  of  a  lawyer  will  be.  It  is 
difficult  to  do  this,  because  the  income  will  vary  accord- 
ing to  the  locality  and  the  character  of  the  service  in 
which  one  is  engaged.  Generally  speaking,  in  the  first 
year  of  his  independent  practice  a  lawyer's  earnings  will 
seldom  net  him  more  than  a  few  hundred  dollars.  With 
experience  and  acquaintance,  however,  his  competence 
will  increase.  If  a  lawyer  chooses  to  serve  an  appren- 
ticeship, as  it  were,  with  another  firm,  he  may  reasonably 
expect  from  ten  to  fifteen  dollars  a  week  at  the  beginning, 
with  an  increase  after  three  or  six  months  according  to 
the  amount  of  practice  in  the  office  in  which  he  is  en- 
gaged. 

The  following  quotations  would  tend  to  discourage  one 
from  entering  upon  the  profession,  unless  he  is  by  nature 
and  training  well  prepared  for  the  work : 

"  Its  demands  [those  of  the  profession  of  law]  are  so  high 
and  the  condition  of  genuine  success  so  exacting  that  it  is  in- 
evitable that  many  of  the  ill  equipped  and  misguided  begin- 
ners who  flood  the  ranks  of  the  legal  professions  should  fail  of 
success. 

"  The  field  is  greatly  overcrowded  and  the  average  earnings 
very  small.  This  is  the  great  objection.  Only  the  more  able 
and  fortunate  in  securing  profitable  legal  practice  can  hope  to 
win  more  than  a  bare  competency.  Young  men  may  not  only 
be  indebted  to  their  family  and  friends  for  a  course  of  study 
covering  three  or  four  years  in  preparation,  but  after  that  for  a 
period  of  five,  ten,  or  even  fifteen  years  consumed  in  acquiring 
a  competent  practice.  Many  never  reach  such  a  practice,  and 


n6         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

are  obliged  to  turn  to  some  other  occupation  for  part  or  full 
income,  or  to  come  down  to  the  end  of  life  in  straitened  cir- 
cumstances, unable  to  do  for  their  families  what  was  earlier 
done  for  them  to  place  them  in  the  profession." 

Legal  training  fits  a  man  not  only  to  practise  law,  but 
to  enter  other  fields  of  activity.  The  lawyer  may  enter 
into  commercial  affiliations  and  into  political  life  through 
the  judiciary,  legislative,  or  executive  branches  of  the 
government.  Men  trained  in  the  law  may  serve  the  pub- 
lic as  attorneys  for  towns,  cities,  counties,  districts, 
States,  or  the  nation.  The  positions  in  the  State  and 
Federal  service  are  as  follows : 

Town  or  city  solicitor. 

County  or  district  attorney. 

Attorney-general  for  the  State  and  his  assistants. 

United  States  district  attorney  and  his  assistants. 

Attorney-general  of  the  United  States  and  his  regular 
and  special  assistants. 

Many  lawyers  also  are  connected  with  various  national 
government  bureaus,  such  as  the  Bureau  of  Insular  Af- 
fairs and  others. 

Practising  lawyers  are  also  often  chosen  as  professors 
or  lecturers  in  law  schools  and  other  schools,  such  as 
schools  of  commerce  and  finance,  medical  schools,  col- 
leges, and  universities.  For  those  lawyers  who  have  a 
literary  education  there  is  opportunity  for  its  exercise  in 
writing  for  law  journals,  magazines,  or  the  daily  press. 
A  lawyer's  training  naturally  brings  him  before  the  peo- 
ple as  a  leader  in  movements  for  the  public  good,  if  he  is 
at  all  public-spirited.  Finally,  many  lawyers  have  an  op- 
portunity for  becoming  counselors  for  the  people  in  gen- 
eral in  the  practice  before  legislative  bodies  considering 


THE  LAW  AS  A  VOCATION  117 

public  interests.  Special  economics  and  industrial  prob- 
lems demand  for  their  best  solution  legal  ability  of  the 
very  highest  order. 

The  legal  profession  is  rapidly  becoming  overcrowded. 
During  the  period  from  1870  to  1900  the  percentage  of 
increase  in  the  number  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law 
was  180.1.  In  the  opinion  of  the  leading  members  of  the 
American  bar  to-day,  the  practising  of  law  is  a  very  poor 
vocation  for  the  incompetent  and  poorly  equipped. 

Dr.  H.  L.  SMITH. 


THE  PRINTING  TRADES 

THE  printing  industry  is  both  a  profession  and  a 
trade.     It  is  essentially  an  occupation  of  intelli- 
gence, the  mechanical  processes  of  which  require  a  high 
degree  of  specialized  skill  and  training.     Printing  in  the 


Courtesy  Zeese-Wilkinson  Co. 

A  MODERN  PRESS  ROOM 

United  States  requires  nearly  half  a  million  people.  The 
trade  is  not  confined  to  any  particular  locality,  but  is  prac- 
tised in  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  number  of  print- 
ing establishments  in  any  city  is  a  comparatively  accurate 

118 


THE  PRINTING  TRADES  119 

index  to  its  size  and  commercial  importance;  therefore 
the  competent  man  in  the  printing  business  is  not  re- 
stricted to  particular  localities  or  conditions. 

The  printing  trade  develops  intellectuality,  for  a  printer 
must  fee  well  read  in  the  very  nature  of  his  occupation. 
His  work  is  skilful,  but  not  extremely  arduous,  and  the 
eight-hour  day  is  practically  standard.  Wages  in  the 
various  branches  average  from  eighteen  to  sixty  dollars 
a  week,  with  special  and  executive  positions  commanding 
higher  salaries. 

This  is  the  age  of  rapid  industrial  changes,  and  new  in- 
ventions may  render  certain  occupations  almost  obsolete 
in  a  night.  It  is  unwise  to  enter  some  lines  of  industry 
because  the  demand  is  lessening,  the  business  decreasing, 
and  the  future  uncertain.  This  is  not  the  case,  how- 
ever, with  printing,  which  is  a  growing  business.  The 
use  of  printing  is  increasing  in  every  field  of  industry. 
In  so  far  as  human  judgment  can  determine,  it  will  con- 
tinue as  an  essential  industry,  and  twenty  years  from 
now  there  will  be  immeasurably  more  product  than  there 
is  to-day. 

Printing  nas  been  aptly  designated  "  the  art  preserva- 
tive of  all  arts."  The  product  of  the  printer's  trade  is  so 
well  known  as  to  require  little  comment.  Books,  period- 
icals, newspapers,  commercial  forms,  advertising  litera- 
ture, and  other  products  of  the  press  form  a  component 
part  of  the  business  and  social  structure  of  all  civilized 
nations,  and  are  integral  parts  of  the  daily  life  of  virtu- 
ally every  individual.  Hardly  any  other  field  of  human 
activity  has  a  product  so  universally  used. 

The  printing  business  is  entirely  shop  and  office  work. 


120         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

There  is  no  exposure,  nor  is  the  trade  affected  materially 
by  weather  conditions.  The  work  is  more  uniform  in 
volume  than  in  many  other  trades.  Only  a  few  of  the 
processes  have  special  hazards,  and  the  health  of  printers 
compares  favorably  with  that  of  other  indoor  trades. 

The  printing  trade  embraces  several  distinct  branches, 
chief  among  which  are  composition,  including  hand  and 
machine,  presswork,  and  bindery.  Each  of  these  is  sub- 
divided into  a  number  of  processes.  The  regular  appren- 
ticeship is  five  years  for  each  branch  of  the  trade.  Very 
few  are  proficient  in  more  than  one  branch,  the  nature  of 
the  business  being  such  that  specialization  is  necessary  for 
both  the  trade  and  the  individual. 

Within  the  last  few  years  technical  schools  have  been 
established,  which  aid  in  training  for  the  industry.  It 
must  be  clearly  understood  that  the  schools  are  intercon- 
nected with  the  trade,  and  are  for  the  purpose  of  adding 
to  shop  training  and  not  superseding  it.  An  indispens- 
able requisite  of  the  printing  industry  is  thorough  in- 
tensive training  and  experience.  In  common  with  other 
worth-while  things,  it  can  not  be  hurriedly  or  super- 
ficially mastered.  Time  and  work  both  are  necessary. 

T.  G.  McGREw, 

Superintendent  United  Typothetae 

of  America,  School  of  Printing, 

Indianapolis. 


SHOW-CARD  WRITING 

A  MAN'S  attention  is  attracted  through  his  sense  of 
sight  more  readily  than  in  any  other  way.  A 
word,  a  phrase,  a  pithy  sentence,  will  catch  his  eye  and 
focus  his  interest,  when  something  requiring  more  con- 
centration would  fail.  For  this  reason,  window  dressing 
has  grown  into  an  important  feature  of  every  merchant's 
business,  and  cards  pointing  out  the  quality  and  prices  of 
the  goods  displayed  are  universally  used.  These  show 
cards  were  formerly  made  by  sign-painters,  until  some, 
more  far-seeing  than  others,  realized  the  opportunity  to 
specialize  in  this  line  of  work,  which  has  now  developed 
into  a  distinctive  trade. 

There  is  a  great  variety  of  types  in  show  cards.  Some 
are  large,  others  are  small ;  some  are  ornamented  with  de- 
signs suitable  for  the  occasion  or  season  or  goods  to  be 
featured  in  the  advertisement;  others  are  plain  numerals 
or  letters  giving  the  bare  detail  of  cost.  Since  these 
cards  are  shown  in  street-cars,  on  moving-picture  an- 
nouncements, on  bill  boards  at  theater  entrances,  as  well 
as  in  the  stores,  they  must  be  so  varied  as  to  be  appro- 
priate to  their  surroundings. 

A  practical  feature  in  writing  show  cards  is  the  selec- 
tion of  some  special  design  or  slogan  with  which  the 
article  or  firm  may  always  be  associated  in  the  mind  of 
the  public.  In  this  field  a  show-card  writer  with  orig- 
inality is  able  to  realize  materially  upon  his  ideas. 

121 


122         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

Because  the  merchant  believes  that  seeing  will  prob- 
ably mean  buying,  he  finds  the  show-card  writer  indis- 
pensable to  his  business.  Whether  large  or  small,  every 
store  needs  these  display  cards  with  their  catchy  an- 
nouncements to  aid  in  promoting  business.  Present-day 
competition  makes  it  necessary  that  every  known  means 
of  attracting  attention  shall  be  utilized  by  the  merchant 
who  would  succeed  in  his  line.  Progressiveness  in  store 
management  has  occasioned  rapid  growth  in  the  trade 
of  card-writing  within  the  last  few  years,  and  the  con- 
stantly increasing  demand  for  advertising  indicates  that 
the  trade  of  show-card  writing  has  an  assured  future. 

For  the  man  possessing  limited  capital  the  small  cost 
of  the  necessary  equipment  is  an  alluring  inducement  to 
enter  the  trade.  A  few  dollars  will  cover  the  entire  cost. 
Brushes,  pens,  penholder,  with  ink  retainer,  ruler,  art 
gum  or  sponge  rubber,  thumb-tacks,  combination  com- 
pass, a  pair  of  large  shears,  a  T-square,  a  box  of  charcoal, 
soft  lead  pencils,  and  cardboard  make  up  the  list  of  nec- 
essary material  for  the  show-card  writer.  A  good-sized 
drawing-board  completes  the  list.  "  The  better  the 
workman  the  fewer  the  tools,"  has  been  said.  An  ex- 
pert card-writer  can  work  efficiently  with  a  board,  a 
T-square,  and  .half  a  dozen  thumb-tacks. 

A  good  general  education  is  essential  for  a  show-card 
writer  who  expects  to  be  more  than  merely  a  mechanical 
maker  of  words  and  letters.  Those  who  become  expert 
in  the  art  need  a  knowledge  of  designing  and  an  original- 
ity in  composing  effective  phrases,  such  as  can  not  be  re- 
sisted even  by  those  who  read  the  cards  casually. 


SHOW-CARD  WRITING  123 

A  practical  knowledge  of  the  geometric  construction 
of  letters  is  fundamental;  for,  though  simple  lettering 
may  be  largely  mechanical  work,  skill  must  not  be  con- 
fined to  the  utilization  of  mechanical  means  alone. 

A  knowledge  of  color  is  an  advantage  to  those  who 
make  sign  cards.  Color  combinations  and  contrasts  play 
an  important  part  in  producing  attractive  cards.  As 
card-writers  are  confronted  by  all  sorts  of  combinations 
of  words  in  inscriptions,  it  is  necessary  for  them  to  know 
letter  forms;  to  understand  novelty  in  designing,  ar- 
rangement, and  artistic  embellishment;  and  to  exercise 
taste  in  harmonizing  colors,  in  order  to  produce  cards 
that  will  be  not  only  neat  and  attractive  but  at  the  same 
time  legible. 

Show-card  writers  make  price  tickets  and  all  types  of 
trade  cards  used  in  windows,  on  the  announcement  boards 
of  theaters,  on  automobiles,  in  cafeterias,  in  street-cars, 
and  wherever  else  the  card  may  serve  as  a  proper  medium 
for  advertising.  The  trade  is  carried  on  in  different 
ways.  Cards  are  sometimes  made  by  salesmen  who  give 
only  part  of  their  time  to  this  work.  Other  writers  give 
all  of  their  time  to  one  firm  that  requires  a  large  number 
of  cards  for  its  own  use.  Some  card-writers  work  for 
show-card  firms,  while  others  have  their  own  offices  and 
fill  special  orders. 

The  demand  for  show-card  writers  is  far  greater  than 
the  supply.  Every  small  town  offers  an  opening  for  one 
or  more,  who  would  make  a  good  living  at  the  trade  in 
that  locality. 

Many  card-writers  are  trained  in  the  shop.     Corre- 


124         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

spondence  courses  afford  fair  advantages  to  the  man  wno 
must  save  time  and  money,  but  personal  supervision  is  of 
great  advantage,  and  personal  criticism  is  essential  if  a 
correspondence  course  is  taken.  Courses  in  card-writing 
are  now  offered  in  technical  schools  and  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
classes  and  vocational  schools  all  over  the  country. 

The  length  of  time  required  for  the  completion  of 
courses  depends  upon  the  student;  one  very  good  course 
covers  eight  weeks.  Some  students  after  the  fifth  or 
sixth  lesson  have  done  work  sufficiently  creditable  to 
bring  a  money  return.  Proper  and  methodical  training 
is  very  necessary.  Care  and  exactness  must  first  be  ac- 
quired and  speed  will  naturally  follow. 

Courses  given  in  show-card  writing  cover  such  sub- 
jects as  how  to  mix  and  when  to  use  water  colors,  inks, 
and  oils;  the  care  of  brushes  and  pens;  -the  proper  kind 
and  color  of  cardboards  to  use;  and  how  to  apply  bronze 
and  diamond  dust.  The  formation  of  pen  and  brush 
letters  is,  of  course,  fundamental,  and  the  principles  of 
lettering  must  be  taught  in  a  simple,  thorough,  and  cor- 
rect way.  Proper  instruction,  with  application,  is  bound 
to  bring  success. 

An  exact  standard  of  prices  has  never  been  possible 
for  card-writing,  as  so  much  depends  upon  the  quality  of 
the  work  and  the  time  required  to  make  the  cards.  The 
cost  of  the  material  is  negligible ;  but  show  cards  have  an 
intrinsic  value  to  the  merchant,  who  is  usually  willing  to 
pay  for  them. 

Card-writers  make  from  twenty-five  to  seventy-five 
dollars  a  week.  Advertising  cards,  being  of  a  tempo- 


SHOW-CARD  WRITING  125 

rary  nature,  must  be  inexpensive.  Rapidity  is  necessary 
in  order  to  make  it  profitable,  as  the  writers  are  usually 
paid  by  piecework.  An  example  may  be  cited  of  a  hunch- 
back who  began  show-card  writing  at  three  dollars  a 
week  and  who  by  his  energy  and  application  rose  to  a 
salary  of  forty  dollars  in  a  short  while. 

MAY  H.  POPE. 


BEE-KEEPING 

BEE-KEEPING  differs  from  most  other  branches  of 
agriculture  in  that  the  bee-keeper  handles  a  creature 
that  has  never  been  domesticated.  He  must  therefore 
study  the  habits  of  this  creature,  and  know  them  inti- 
mately before  he  may  hope  to  succeed  in  this  work.  The 
feeding  habits,  breeding,  and  even  the  housing  of  bees 
have  not  been  materially  changed  in  all  the  centuries  that 
man  has  handled  them.  If  their  habits  are  understood, 
the  bee-keeper  may  cause  them  to  accomplish  results  that 
will  lead  to  the  greatest  profit  to  himself.  The  work  is 
light,  without  routine  duties  at  fixed  times,  with  no 
drudgery.  Bee-keeping  is  interesting,  and  is  strengthen- 
ing to  the  mind  and  the  body.  It  is  a  profitable  business 
that  may  be  made  very  lucrative  with  devotion  and  ex- 
perience. A  Western  man  sold  his  crop  of  one  season  to 
a  company  dealing  in  honey  for  thirty  thousand  dollars. 
Honey  is  made  from  the  nectar  secreted  by  thousands 
of  varieties  of  flowers.  This  nectar  is  gathered  by  bees 
and  modified  by  them  chemically.  Water  is  evaporated 
out  of  it,  and  it  is  ripened  into  a  delicious  and  wholesome 
food.  Before  cane  sugar  was  manufactured  in  quanti- 
ties for  commercial  use,  honey  was  the  most  common 
sweet  in  human  food.  In  pioneering  days  it  was  hunted 
systematically  in  hollow  trees  and  crevices  in  rocks. 
Wild  honey  so  secured  was  considered  well  worth  the  time 
spent  in  seeking  it. 

126 


BEE-KEEPING  127 

There  is  another  form  of  honey,  designated  as  abnor- 
mal, since  it  does  not  come  from  the  nectar  of  flowers, 
but  is  nevertheless  gathered  by  bees.  It  is  developed 
from  a  sweet  substance  known  as  honey-dew,  deposited 
on  the  leaves  of  plants  by  certain  insects  such  as  plant- 


OUR  HUMBLE  HELPERS 

lice.  In  some  regions  honey-dew  is  not  found  at  all. 
Where  found,  the  amount  that  bees  gather  is  negligible  in 
comparison  with  the  amount  of  nectar  gathered  from 
blossoms.  Nectar  is  so  changed  chemically  and  modified 
by  ripening  and  evaporation  after  being  gathered  by  bees, 


128         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

that  in  the  form  of  honey  it  is  readily  digested  and  as- 
similated. 

Before  the  manufacture  of  great  quantities  of  sugar  a 
larger  amount  of  honey  was  used  per  capita  than  is  used 
now.  The  necessary  introduction  of  honey  as  a  substi- 
tute for  sugar  during  the  war  called  attention  to  its  health- 
fulness,  and  the  lesson  is  not  likely  soon  to  be  forgotten. 
Because  it  is  predigested  and  readily  assimilable,  physi- 
cians recommend  it  as  a  food  for  persons  with  delicate 
stomachs. 

The  average  amount  of  sugar  consumed  annually  for 
each  man,  woman,  and  child  is  about  eighty  pounds,  and 
this  sugar  can  not  be  assimilated  without  change  in  the 
stomach,  an  action  not  necessary  with  honey.  It  can 
readily  be  understood  that  the  population  might  be  bene- 
fited by  substituting  honey  for  some  of  the  sugar  con- 
sumed. When  the  stomach  fails  to  do  its  work  in 
modifying  the  sugar,  the  eliminating  organs,  the  kid- 
neys especially,  are  severely  taxed.  A  noted  physician, 
now  eighty-four  years  old,  eats  honey  instead  of  sugar, 
believing  that  it  will  give  him  better  health  and  prolong 
his  life.  He  believes  that,  as  our  natural  craving  indi- 
cates, sweets  are  a  real  need  of  the  system,  but  that  the 
excessive  use  of  sugar  brings  in  its  train  a  long  list  of 
ills.  He  asserts  that  if  honey  could  be  at  least  partially 
restored  to  its  former  place,  the  health  of  the  present 
generation  would  be  greatly  improved. 

Professor  Cook,  a  Californian,  says :  "Physicians  may 
be  correct  in  asserting  that  the  large  consumption  of 
sugar  is  a  menace  to  health  and  long  life,  and  that  by  eat- 


BEE-KEEPING  129 

ing  honey  our  digestive  machinery  saves  work  that  it 
would  have  to  perform  if  we  ate  sugar,  and  in  case  it  is 
overtaxed  and  feeble  this  may  be  just  the  respite  that 
will  save  it  from  a  breakdown." 

Switzerland  produces  large  quantities  of  honey,  but 
the  demand  for  it  is  so  great  that  the  price  has  advanced 
and  the  government  has  been  compelled  to  fix  it.  Al- 
though we  may  infer  that  the  Swiss  themselves  are  a 
great  honey-eating  people,  Dr.  Emfeld,  of  Geneva,  seems 
to  think  that  they  might  well  eat  more  of  this  sweet.  "  If 
people  would  eat  more  honey,"  he  says,  "  we  doctors 
would  starve." 

Honey  has  many  medicinal  qualities,  and  is  used  in 
nearly  all  cough  syrups,  cold  preparations,  and  other 
medicines. 

While  commonly  used  in  the  natural  state  as  a  spread 
on  hot  bread  and  cakes,  honey  may  be  employed  in  cook- 
ing wherever  sugar  is  ordinarily  used.  The  same  bene- 
ficial effect  upon  health  will  follow  as  a  result  from  its 
use  in  the  natural  state.  Foods  prepared  with  it  are  bet- 
ter and  will  remain  in  fresh  condition  longer  than  if 
prepared  with  sugar  or  syrup.  Bread  and  cakes  prepared 
with  honey  will  not  dry  out,  as  with  sugar,  because  honey 
attracts  moisture.  It  has  long  been  employed  in  the 
household  in  general  cooking,  as  well  as  in  canning  and  in 
the  baking  of  many  desirable  kinds  of  bread,  and  numer- 
ous varieties  of  cakes,  gems,  snaps,  and  cookies.  When 
used  in  sweetening  tea  and  coffee  it  does  not  cause  any 
loss  of  aroma.  Its  recent  substitution  for  sugar  is  caus- 
ing it  again  to  be  employed  in  making  pies,  puddings,  and 


130         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

sauces.  Confectioners  use  honey  freely,  and  might  well 
use  it  more  freely  than  they  do  in  making  honey  mils, 
candies,  creams,  butter-scotch,  and  popcorn  balls. 

In  Turkey,  a  great  honey-producing  country,  where  bee 
culture  is  scientifically  followed  with  the  noted  Oriental 
strains  of  bees,  a  popular  swreet,  known  as  rose-honey 
marmalade,  is  manufactured.  It  is  made  from  the 
leaves  of  roses  and  honey,  and  combines  the  exquisite 
perfume  of  the  former  with  the  delightful  flavor  of  the 
latter  in  an  unusual  product  of  the  nature  and  texture  of 
a  marmalade,  due  to  incorporating  the  rose  petals  with 
the  honey. 

There  are  in  the  United  States  about  eight  hundred 
thousand  persons  who  own  bees,  although  not  all  of  them 
can  be  classed  as  regular  bee-keepers.  Perhaps  the  aver- 
age bee-owner  has  about  ten  colonies.  Since  there  are 
many  owning  bees  by  the  hundreds  of  colonies,  it  is  ob- 
vious that  the  majority  have  only  two  or  three  colonies. 
This  side  line  of  a  few  hives  on  the  farm  does  not  really 
pay;  it  is  simply  a  little  luxury.  The  type  of  bee-keeping 
presented  here  is  for  a  vocation,  and  is  the  practical  kind 
employed  by  the  best  bee-keepers  of  the  country  —  by 
men  who  make  a  good  living  keeping  bees. 

The  retail  price  of  honey  has  gradually  advanced  to 
forty  cents  or  more  a  pound,  and  beeswax  to  forty-two 
cents  wholesale,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  there  was 
produced  in  1918  about  250,000,000  pounds  of  honey. 
This  probably  does  not  cover  the  entire  honey  crop  of  the 
United  States,  since  a  large  amount  is  marketed  locally. 
In  fact,  this  product  is  so  greatly  in  demand  that  a  large 
percentage  is  sold  at  the  home  of  the  apiarist.  Apiarists 


BEE-KEEPING  131 

can,  if  attentive  to  the  attractiveness  of  their  product  and 
considerate  of  their  customers,  hold  them  and  make  of 
each  an  advertisement  for  additional  business.  The 
honey  crop  of  the  United  States  is  estimated  annually  at 
$20,000,000,  and  yet  there  has  never  been  a  time  when 
any  country  on  the  globe  could  produce  enough  to  make 
this  delicious  food  a  common  article  of  diet. 

Not  all  parts  of  the  United  States  are  equally  good  for 
bee-keeping,  and  it  is  advisable  for  one  who  contemplates 
making  it  his  life  work  carefully  to  consider  the  selection 
of  a  location.  As  a  rule,  it  is  not  advisable  to  go  too  far 
from  the  country  with  which  one  is  familiar.  Bees  may 
be  kept  with  profit  almost  anywhere  where  agriculture  is 
practised,  the  returns  depending  largely  on  the  care  given 
to  the  bees. 

Only  those  persons  who  study  and  devote  themselves 
to  the  business  are  successful  bee-keepers.  They  make 
money,  some  big  money.  One  Indiana  man's  honey  crop 
exceeded  $20,000.  Success  requires  making  bee-keeping 
the  chief  vocation,  for  the  person  who  does  not  rely  upon 
it  for  his  living  is  likely  to  be  busy  when  the  bees  most 
need  his  care,  and  being  constantly  engrossed  in  other 
things  he  does  not  take  the  time  to  study  the  problems  of 
the  bee-keeper.  Bee-keeping'  is  preeminently  a  special- 
ist's job. 

There  is  demand  for  all  the  honey  that  can  be  pro- 
duced in  the  United  States,  and  there  was  never  a  time  in 
the  history  of  the  industry  when  the  honey  market  was  so 
well  established.  Of  course,  during  the  war,  when  there 
was  a  shortage  of  sugar,  the  demand  for  honey  was  ab- 
normal, but  it  seems  improbable  that  the  market  will  ever 


132         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

revert  to  pre-war  conditions  in  price  or  demand.  Many 
persons  learned  to  use  honey  who  .will  continue  purchas- 
ing it,  notwithstanding  they  may  now  buy  all  the  sugar 
they  wish.  Honey  is  not  a  substitute  for  sugar  in  the 
diet,  but  more  properly  takes  the  place  of  jellies  and 
jams.  .  With  the  development  of  the  bottle  trade  in 
honey,  which  has  been  rapid  in  the  past  five  years,  there 
has  been  an  increasing  demand-  in  the  wholesale  markets. 
The  introduction  of  prohibition  has  unquestionably  caused 
the  use  of  all  kinds  of  sweets,  including  honey.  This  has 
already  become  apparent.  The  sugar  stringency,  result- 
ing in  the  war  basis  distribution,  had  its  application  in 
many  States  simultaneously  with  prohibition.  It  was  not 
difficult  to  enforce  the  curtailment  of  sugar  to  confection- 
ers in  "  wet  "  States,  but  most  difficult,  and  in  fact  im- 
possible, in  the  prohibition  States,  where  it  was  actually 
necessary  to  increase  the  sugar  allotment  to  candy-makers. 
Investigation  proves  that  former  users  of  alcoholic  bev- 
erages were  large  buyers  of  candies  and  other  sweets. 

There  is  an  abundant  opportunity  for  the  development 
of  local  trade  in  honev  in  almost  all  parts  of  the  country. 
The  future  of  bee-keeping  is  inviting.  There  is  every 
reason  to  expect  that  it  will  continue  to  develop  rapidly 
for  several  years,  and  that  it  will  long  continue  to  be  an 
important  minor  branch  of  agriculture.  From  its  very 
nature,  owing  to  the  limited  supply  of  nectar,  it  can  never 
be  one  of  the  leading  branches  of  agriculture,  but  there 
is  abundant  nectar  to  build  up  bee-keeping  to  ten  times 
its  present  capacity. 

One  of  the  best  ways  to  acquire  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  bee-keeping  is  to  take  a  course  in  one  of  the  agricul- 


BEE-KEEPING  133 

tural  colleges  that  offers  such  work.  It  must,  of  course, 
be  understood  that  the  knowledge  so  gained  must  be 
largely  theoretical,  for  there  is  not  time  in  a  college 
course  for  much  practical  work.  However,  if  the  work 
is  properly  presented  the  student  should  be  able  at  the 
close  of  the  course  to  begin  with  one  hundred  colonies, 
and  then  he  may  \vork  up  in  bee-keeping  practice  as  he 
increases  the  number  of  colonies.  The  following  colleges 
offer  good  courses  in  this  subject : 

University  of  Minnesota,  College  of  Agriculture,  St. 
Paul,  Minnesota. 

College  of  Agriculture,  Ames,  Iowa. 

Agricultural  College,  Storrs,  Connecticut. 

College  of  Agriculture,  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey. 

Agricultural  College,  East  Lansing,  Michigan. 

Agricultural  College,  College  Station,  Texas. 

Agricultural  College,  Manhattan,  Kansas. 

WALTER  J.  QUICK,  M.S.,  Ph.D. 


FARMING  AS  A  LIFE-WORK 

LIFE  on  the  farm,  or  as  our  English  cousins  call  it, 
"  living  on  the  land,"  has  many  attractive  features 
and  advantages  as  well  as  disadvantages. 

Farming  differs  from  all  other  vocations  in  that  it  is 
both  a  business  and  a  mode  of  life.  In  nearly  all  other 
occupations  the  wage-earner  goes  away  from  home,  to 
the  shop,  store,  or  office,  to  carry  on  his  work;  but  in 
agriculture  the  farm  is  both  the  home  and  the  place  of 
business.  In  other  occupations  the  interests  of  the  dif- 
ferent members  of  the  family  are  divided  —  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  day's  work  the  members  of  the  family 
separate  to  go  to  their  different  and  unrelated  tasks ; 
while  on  the  farm  all  of  the  members  of  the  family  work 
almost,  if  not  quite,  in  sight  of  each  other,  with  lands, 
animals,  and  machinery  that  the  family  itself  owns,  and 
in  which  there  is,  or  at  least  may  be,  joint  interest  and 
joint  desire  for  pleasure  and  success. 

Again,  the  farmer  and  his  family  are  both  the  employer 
and  the  employee,  the  capitalist  and  the  laborer,  in  agri- 
culture as  a  business.  Hence,  there  is  much  greater  free- 
dom of  action  and  greater  possibilities  of  common  pleas- 
ure and  interest  in  the  business  in  which  the  family  is 
engaged.  This  is  what  is  generally  called  the  "  freedom  " 
or  "  independence  "  of  life  on  the  farm. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  farmer  is  more  dependent  than 
any  other  worker  upon  forces  or  agencies  that  are  en- 

134 


136         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

tirely  outside  of  human  control  for  the  success  or  failure 
of  his  work.  The  weather  is  one  of  the  controlling  fac- 
tors in  crop  growth.  Often  a  single  brief  hail-storm 
will  destroy  the  results  of  a  whole  season's  labor.  If 
timely  rains  do  not  come,  or  if  a  killing  frost  comes  too 
soon,  the  crops  on  which  a  whole  season's  effort  has  been 
spent  wither  and  die.  Fortunately,  however,  in  all  locali- 
ties that  are  suitable  to  farming,  the  forces  of  nature 
usually  work  favorably  to  the  production  of  farm  crops, 
and  the  farmer  may  depend  with  confidence  upon  the 
timely  rains,  the  beneficent  heat  and  light  from  the  sun, 
the  ripening  frost  at  the  proper  time,  the  alternation  of 
winter  rest  with  summer  labor  and  growth,  which  make 
the  farm  business  so  successful  and  farm  life  so  attrac- 
tive. 

Unfortunately,  it  is  often  the  case  that  the  farmer  and 
his  family  fail  to  appreciate  the  advantages  of  their  com- 
mon interest  in  the  things  of  the  farm  and  the  pleasures 
of  using  the  forces  of  nature  to  their  own  advantage, 
and  the  work  on  the  farm  often  becomes  a  round  of 
drudgery  and  its  life  one  of  isolation  and  unhappiness. 
But,  unlike  the  conditions  that  surround  nearly  all  other 
occupations,  it  is  within  the  power  of  the  worker  himself 
to  determine  how  these  conditions  shall  affect  his  mode 
of  life  and  the  happiness  or  unhappiness  of  himself  and 
his  family,  because  he  may  choose  his  surroundings  with 
reference  to  both  his  business  and  his  home  life,  instead  of 
being  required  to  live  wherever  he  can  in  order  to  be  able 
to  get  to  his  daily  work.  Of  course,  a  failure  of  crops, 
or  economic  changes  that  result  in  unprofitable  prices  for 
farm  products,  may  make  it  impossible  at  times  to  have 


FARMING  AS  A  LIFE-WORK  137 

on  the  farm  many  of  the  pleasures  and  comforts  of  life 
which  the  family  may  desire;  but  the  many  examples  of 
fine  happy  farm  homes  in  the  same  neighborhood  as,  and 
even  alongside  of,  those  where  drudgery  and  unhappiness 
prevail  show  how  truly  these  conditions  are  the  result  of 
the  farmer's  own  desires  and  efforts,  rather  than  of  ex- 
ternal influences  over  which  he  has  no  control. 

Since  the  choice  of  farming  as  a  vocation  is  also  the 
choice  of  a  home  in  the  country,  with  both  its  advantages 
and  its  disadvantages,  the  first  necessity  in  preparing  for 
this  vocation  is  either  a  natural  or  a  cultivated  desire  for 
life  in  the  country.  No  one  who  dislikes  country  life  or 
has  a  distaste  for  hard  manual  labor  can  hope  to  succeed 
in  farming  as  a  business  or  to  enjoy  farm  home  life. 

The  coming  of  good  roads,  rural  free  delivery,  rural 
telephones,  consolidated  schools,  and  farm  home  electric- 
light  plants  and  pressure  water  supplies  have  done  away 
with  much  of  the  physical  and  social  differences  between 
country  life  and  life  in  the  city  or  town;  but  the  farmer 
and  his  family  must  like  hard  physical  work  and  enjoy 
doing  much  of  that  work  out  in  the  open,  in  all  seasons  of 
the  year  and  under  country  life  conditions,  if  they  are 
truly  to  succeed  in  farm  life. 

Next,  the  successful  farmer  must  have  as  much  techni- 
cal training  for  his  work  as  possible.  In  addition  to  the 
best  education  he  can  get  for  general  business  and  citizen- 
ship uses,  he  ought  to  have  as  much  as  possible  of  educa- 
tion in  the  principles  of  scientific  agriculture.  It  is,  of 
course,  not  possible  to  learn  "  how  to  farm  "  in  school. 
Skill  in  handling  farm  implements,  familiarity  with  farm 
animals,  muscles  accustomed  to  hard  work,  etc.,  can  be 


138         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

obtained  only  by  actually  working  on  a  farm.  But  a  real 
understanding  of  how  the  soil  should  be  treated  to  get 
from  it  its  maximum  productivity;  of  how  the  insects  and 
plant  diseases  that  injure  crops  or  animals  can  best  be 
controlled;  of  how  improved  strains  of  seed  stock  for 
crops  or  improved  breeds  of  live  stock  can  be  obtained; 
of  how  animals  can  be  fed  so  that  they  will  make  the  best 
possible  use  of  the  materials  which  they  consume;  of 
whether  the  raw  materials  grown  on  the  farm  had  best 
be  sold  as  such  or  manufactured  on  the  farm  into  other 
forms  of  food  products  —  all  these  and  many  other  ques- 
tions that  arise  in  connection  with  the  operation  of  a  mod- 
ern farm  can  be  intelligently  answered  only  after  careful 
study  of  the  scientific  principles  that  govern  each  of  these 
matters. 

"  Book  farming  ''  is  not  a  substitute  for  practical  ex- 
perience, and  will  not  teach  any  one  how  to  work  skilfully 
on  a  farm ;  but  it  will  give  him  the  knowledge  that  will 
help  him  to  avoid  mistakes  and  to  plan  his  work  intelli- 
gently. Also,  a  true  understanding  and  appreciation  of 
the  forces  of  nature  with  which  he  has  to  deal  means 
much  to  the  happiness  of  the  farm  worker.  Most  of  the 
drudgery  and  discontent  of  farm  life  in  the  past  has  been 
due  to  the  feeling  by  the  individual  farmer  that  he  was 
being  made  the  victim  of  unfavorable  forces  or  agencies 
that  he  could  not  understand  or  successfully  combat. 

Farming  differs  from  many  other  occupations  in  the 
great  variety  of  types  of  work  and  of  living  conditions 
that  it  offers.  A  shoemaker's  work  is  practically  the 
same  wherever  he  may  locate ;  a  banker  conducts  his  busi- 
ness in  much  the  same  way,  wherever  it  is  undertaken ;  a 


FARMING  AS  A  LIFE-WORK  139 

merchant  sells  much  the  same  goods  in  much  the  same 
way,  wherever  he  may  decide  to  establish  his  store.  But 
the  farmer  has  a  choice  of  an  almost  infinite  variety  of 
types  of  agriculture,  and  a  program  of  daily  work  that 
varies  with  each  succeeding  period  of  the  season.  In  any 
given  locality,  he  may  choose  between  the  growing  of  a 
considerable  variety  of  crops;  the  production  of  cattle, 
swine,  sheep,  horses,  or  chickens ;  market-gardening  or 
the  growing  of  large-field  crops;  bee-keeping;  fruit-grow- 
ing; dairying;  or  any  combination  of  these  that  he  may 
desire  or  find  to  be  adapted  to  the  local  needs  and  con- 
ditions. Again,  he  may  choose  between  the  widest  pos- 
sible variations,  in  different  localities,  of  soils,  seasons  of 
weather,  market  conditions,  and  conditions  of  community 
life. 

Hence,  in  the  choice  of  farming  as  a  life-work,  one 
needs  to  consider  not  only  the  general  comparison  of  this 
vocation  with  others,  but  also  to  choose  between  the  al- 
most limitless  number  of  possible  variations  in  the  kind 
of  farming  and  the  conditions  of  home  life  on  the  farm 
that  are  open  to  him. 

What  has  just  been  said  about  the  great  variety  of  con- 
ditions of  farm  life  emphasizes  both  the  opportunity  and 
the  need  for  trained  leadership  among  farmers.  In  other 
occupations  the  problems  and  conditions  of  work  of  all 
those  who  are  engaged  in  any  particular  industry  or  pro- 
fession are  very  similar,  and  leadership  may  easily  result 
from  natural  ability  or  from  long  experience.  But  in 
agriculture  the  variations  in  the  problems  are  so  great  that 
no  one  person  can  become  familiar  with  any  considerable 
part  of  them  by  the  experience  of  a  single  life-time. 


140         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

This  fact  is  a  constant  stimulus,  as  well  as  a  challenge, 
to  any  one  who  really  wants  to  lead  a  life  full  of  interest 
to  himself,  opportunity  for  his  family,  and  service  to  his 
neighbors  and  his  community.  Added  to  health  of  body 
resulting  from  an  intelligent,  sanitary  life  in  the  open 
country,  there  may  be  health  of  mind  and  soul  resulting 
from  intelligent  appreciation  of  and  participation  in  the 
works  of  nature  for  the  benefit  of  mankind. 

Taken  all  together,  farming  offers  a  most  attractive 
life-work  and  mode  of  life  combined.  It  has  its  troubles 
and  disadvantages,  as  do  all  other  occupations,  but  in 
farming  these  are  more  easily  remedied  or  overcome  by 
the  intelligent  efforts  of  the  farmer  himself  than  are  those 
of  almost  any  other  vocation.  Life  in  the  country  is  at 
the  same  time  an  inspiration  and  a  challenge  to  all  that 
is  best  in  human  life.  It  is  this  fact  that  makes  true  the 
often  repeated  statement  that  "  our  best  men  come  from 
the  country." 

R.  W.  THATCHER. 

Dean   of  the   Department   of   Agriculture   and 

Director  of  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations, 

University  of  Minnesota. 


THE  NEW  DAY  IN  SALESMANSHIP 

PERHAPS  the  most  widely  discussed  subject  in  busi- 
ness to-day  is  the  art  of  selling.  Whether  this  is 
true  or  not,  the  fact  remains  that  practically  every  human 
being  is  a  seller  of  something.  Efforts  are  now  being 
made  to  develop  definite  methods  for  use  in  the  selection 
of  salesmen.  Other  investigators  are  endeavoring  to  lay 
down  rules  of  a  scientific  nature  to  govern  the  problem 
in  action.  Yet  strange  as  it  may  appear,  this  oldest  of 
all  occupations  continues  to  be  practiced  in  conformity 
with  the  personal  ideas  of  each  individual  salesman  rather 
than  as  an  exact  science  with  proved  formulas. 

However,  this  deficiency  in  the  matter  of  a  prescribed 
course  of  procedure  in  selling  goods  is  due  more  to  a  lack 
of  organization  of  present  available  information  than  to 
any  dearth  of  knowledge  on  the  subject.  The  time  has 
passed,  if  it  ever  was  here,  when  a  salesman  to  be  a  suc- 
cess must  depend  chiefly  on  good  fellowship  and  an  ability 
to  entertain.  These  qualities,  though  valuable,  now  rank 
below  creative  ability  and  the  power  to  present  in  force- 
ful manner  the  proper  appeal  to  each  particular  prospect 
approached.  In  other  words,  salesmanship  has  acquired 
the  dignified  distinction  of  being  a  profession  demanding 
a  grade  of  intelligence  and  education  that  was  not  the  case 
some  years  ago,  when  the  average  salesman  was  little 
more  than  a  hired  man  who  traveled  a  fixed  route  and 
recorded  orders. 

141 


142         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

In  an  effort  to  get  a  line  on  a  variety  of  new  ideas  in 
selling  and  sales  management  I  got  in  touch  with  a  num- 
ber of  bur  best-known  leading  lights  in  this  interesting 
game  of  getting  commodities  from  the  producers  to  the 
fellows  who  need  them.  I  found  these  men  in  possession 
of  accumulated  facts  indicating  close  observation  and 
patient  research.  The  modern  sales  manager  is  a  combi- 
nation psychologist,  statistician,  merchant  and  analyst. 
He  is  no  more  born  to  follow  his  pursuit  than  is  the  aver- 
age doctor  or  engineer.  The  secret  of  success  in  selling 
is  chiefly  a  willingness  to  devote  the  necessary  time  and 
study  to  learning  the  business. 

My  informants  were  agreed  that  one  of  the  greatest 
difficulties  is  the  selection  of  men  to  act  as  salesmen.  The 
new  applicant  may  have  talent  to  sell  goods,  and  yet  pos- 
sess very  little  ability  to  sell  himself.  This  truth,  coupled 
with  the  prevalent  tendency  of  most  employers  to  follow 
their  intuitions  and  prejudices  rather  than  cold  facts  in 
hiring  men,  makes  it  advisable  never  to  employ  a  sales- 
man during  the  first  interview,  and  if  possible  to  procure 
an  opinion  of  the  man  from  two  or  more  of  the  company's 
officers.  One  concern  requires  that  four  of  its  executives 
shall  interview  each  applicant  for  a  salesman's  job  and 
that  the  average  of  the  four  ratings  shall  determine  the 
new  man's  qualifications. 

The  physical  characteristics  of  an  applicant  provide  no 
accurate  measure  of  the  man's  mental  capacity.  It  is,  of 
course,  understood  that  there  should  be  some  difference  in 
the  style  and  mannerisms  of  a  man  who  is  wanted  to  sell 
jewelry  to  Fifth  Avenue  stores  and  a  salesman  for  paints 
and  oils  in  Texas  or  Oklahoma.  It  is  fatal  to  provide  a 


THE  NEW  DAY  IN  SALESMANSHIP     143 

situation  where  the  prospect  is  made  to  feel  that  the  seller 
is  of  another  class.  The  merchant  or  farmer  in  a  soft  hat 
and  shirt  sleeves  won't  mix  well  with  the  salesman  who 
carries  a  cane  and  wears  spats.  Physical  appearance 
therefore  must  be  taken  into  account  to  see  that  the  man 
who  is  employed  will  not  appear  out  of  harmony  with  the 
trade  and  surroundings  he  must  meet.  However,  the 
difficulty  in  picking  the  right  man  for  a  selling  position 
lies  in  getting  a  true  slant  on  the  newcomer's  mental  and 
moral  traits,  which  qualities  are  not  always  wbrn  so  they 
are  in  plain  view. 

The  use  of  application  forms  is  only  helpful  in  that 
time  may  thus  be  saved  through  the  elimination  of  inter- 
views with  men  who  might  be  put  out  of  the  probable  or 
possible  class  by  certain  unfavorable  facts  that  their  writ- 
ten answers  to  specific  questions  might  reveal.  The 
native  ability  and  general  intelligence  of  a  prospective 
salesman  are  the  important  questions  to  be  determined, 
and  these  distinctive  attributes  can  only  be  discovered 
after  careful  search  and  the  application  of  simple  but 
proved  scientific  tests. 

Some  managers  have  prepared  charts  with  two  columns 
of  qualities,  the  virtues  being  known  as  plus  qualities  and 
the  deficiencies  being  called  minus  qualities.  In  this 
system,  after  the  applicant  has  been  interviewed  one  or 
more  times,  the  employer  fills  the  chart  by  giving  the  man 
a  certain  grade  for  each  quality.  The  total  of  the  minus 
qualities  or  deficiencies  subtracted  from  the  total  of  the 
plus  qualities  gives  a  figure  that  represents  in  a  general 
way  the  merit  or  probable  value  of  the  applicant.  Among 
the  plus  qualities  are  energy,  persistence,  loyalty,  appear- 


144         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

ance,  personality  and  imagination.  The  minus  column 
includes  laziness,  ill  temper,  bad  habits,  jealousy  and 
conceit. 

Some  men  are  born  with  certain  qualities  that  are  essen- 
tial to  success  in  salesmanship,  and  yet  these  same  men 
are  frequently  excelled  in  the  matter  of  results  obtained 
by  other  individuals  who  have  been  obliged  to  acquire  the 
necessary  qualities  by  education  and  cultivation.  In  the 
business  of  selling  goods  a  man  must  possess  staying 
power  and  be  slow  to  recognize  defeat.  He  must  be  capa- 
ble of  quickly  adapting  himself  to  different  temperaments 
and  surroundings.  He  must  be  versatile,  fairly  entertain- 
ing, able  to  talk  intelligently  about  other  lines  of  business 
than  his  own  and  possess  sufficient  magnetism  and  per- 
suasive force  to  bring  conviction  without  bluntly  dis- 
crediting the  ideas  and  opinions  of  the  opposition. 

Many  concerns  now  prefer  a  well-balanced  staff  of 
average  salesmen  to  a  mixed  force  containing  a  couple 
of  stars  and  a  lot  of  tailenders.  So-called  born  sales- 
men generally  work  in  spurts  and  do  not  easily  absorb 
either  instruction  or  information  that  comes  from  the 
directing  force  higher  up.  Star  sellers  often  demoral- 
ize a  whole  department  through  having  all  the  general 
rules  shaped  to  fit  men  of  their  own  personality  and  abil- 
ity. Many  companies  have  lost  good  material  through 
the  petting  and  favoritism  shown  to  an  egotistical,  undis- 
ciplined star  salesman.  Without  teamwork  success  in 
any  organization  is  impossible. 

The  modern  salesman  in  most  lines  is  expected  to  devote 
more  time  to  selling  intangible  things  like  service  and 
prestige  than  merchandise.  Our  great  manufacturing 


THE  NEW  DAY  IN  SALESMANSHIP      145 

concerns  spend  millions  of  dollars  in  national  advertising, 
and  the  salesman  must  know  how  to  sell  the  idea  of  the 
greater  salability  of  an  article  due  to  the  wide  educational 
work  of  the  manufacturer.  The  present-day  seller  of 
goods  must  be  able  to  convince  his  prospect  of  the  value 
that  rests  in  the  reputation  of  the  maker,  of  his  policies 
and  the  service  that  is  rendered.  It  is  this  new  turn  that 
has  been  given  to  salesmanship  that  makes  a  failure  of 
many  men  whose  instincts  are  all  for  material  things. 
Such  salesmen  have  too  little  imagination  and  find  it  dif- 
ficult to  succeed  in  the  selling  of  such  things  as  goodwill 
and  other  intangible  merchandise. 

The  present  time  is  a  day  of  specialties,  and  through 
the  character  of  the  container,  the  finish  and  the  trade 
mark,  even  goods  that  once  were  staples  have  been  con- 
Verted  into  specialties,  the  distribution  of  which  requires 
a  wider  and  more  diversified  selling  ability  than  was 
needed  in  former  times. 

The  salesman  who  would  be  a  success  must  fix  in  his 
mind  that  he  is  selling  his  prospect  not  merchandise  pri- 
marily but  the  expectation  of  a  later  profit.  The  seller  of 
goods  must  be  an  optimist  or  he  will  be  too  easily  dis- 
couraged, and  he  must  be  an  analyst  so  that  he  can  base 
his  campaigns  on  sound  principles  rather  than  expedience. 
Selling  experience  has  taught  that  each  move  must  be 
founded  upon  specific  information,  and  not  hope  and 
enthusiasm.  When  the  facts  are  clear  and  the  decision 
has  been  made,  prompt  action  must  follow  before  the 
opinions  arrived  at  become  obsolete  and  valueless.  Pa- 
tience in  preparation  and  vigor  in  performance  are  essen- 
tial to  success  in  salesmanship.  Some  selling  organiza- 


146         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

tions  are  ninety  per  cent  motion  and  only  ten  per  cent 
accomplishment,  because  the  manager  attempts  to  conduct 
a  campaign  without  first  basing  his  different  moves  upon  a 
careful  and  thorough  analysis  of  the  field  and  all  relative 
conditions. 

One  experienced  manager  of  sales  said :  "  I  preach  to 
my  men  that  nothing  is  impossible  until  all  of  the  facts 
are  in  and  it  is  plain  that  the  thing  can't  be  done.  Every 
man  on  my  staff  must  be  unswerving  in  his  loyalty  to  the 
company  rather  than  to  me  personally.  It  is  also  neces- 
sary that  each  one  shall  understand  that  in  the  matter  of 
all  breaks  the  company  must  be  given  the  long  and  favor- 
able end,  and  not  the  customer.  I  have  also  found  that  as 
a  general  rule  the  article  should  be  manufactured  wher- 
evef  possible  to  suit  the  market  and  the  selling  plans, 
rather  than  that  the  sales  planning  should  be  shaped  to  fit 
the  merchandise. 

"  Selling  is  the  most  important  division  of  business, 
and  it  is  not  a  matter  of  what  can  be  made  but  what  can 
be  sold.  Even  the  question  of  mechanical  excellence  and 
price  must  be  based  on  the  possible  market  and  the  prob- 
able demand.  An  article  that  can  be  put  forth  as  em- 
bodying the  ideas  of  an  acknowledged  authority  in  that 
particular  field  will  often  have  a  better  chance  and  an 
easier  road  to  travel.  Goods  that  are  not  made  to  attract 
in  appearance  will  frequently  fail  to  get  an  opportunity  to 
prove  their  merit.  Any  number  of  successful  companies 
sell  merchandise  that  costs  less  than  the  container  in  which 
it  is  put  up.  People  pay  for  individuality  in  an  article, 
and  for  this  reason  each  product  must  have  at  least  one 
important  qualitv  in  which  it  excels  all  of  its  competitors." 


THE  NEW  DAY  IN  SALESMANSHIP      147 

Concerning  the  proper  methods  of  approach  and  action 
in  selling  goods,  I  found  a  diversity  of  ideas  almost  as  nu- 
merous as  there  are  selling  organizations.  There  are 
some  principles,  however,  that  appear  to  have  become  ac- 
cepted practice  in  many  of  the  larger  sales  organizations, 
and  a  few  of  these  may  prove  interesting.  It  is  funda- 
mental in  a  salesman's  education  that  a  possible  buyer 
may  be  able  to  control  his  speech,  but  not  his  eyes  and 
facial  expression.  The  seller  of  goods  must  quickly  de- 
termine the  character  of  the  man  he  is  trying  to  sell  to. 
Some  men  are  most  easily  reached  by  the  ear,  some  by 
touch  and  others  by  the  eye.  The  first  class  will  listen 
to  talk,  the  second  will  want  to  feel  the  article,  while  the 
eye-minded  folks  usually  prefer  to  read  pamphlets,  cata- 
logues and  advertisements  in  order  to  get  their  informa- 
tion, or  observe  the  merchandise. 

The  successful  salesman  must  quickly  discover  these 
individual  traits  of  his  customers  and  cater  to  them.  It 
is  foolish  for  a  salesman  to  waste  time  in  trying  to  dem- 
onstrate an  article  to  the  man  who  can  be  sold  by  touch. 
This  prospect's  mind  has  been  fully  reached  with  a  strong 
argument  the  moment  he  has  come  into  personal  contact 
with  the  object. 

The  most  successful  sellers  of  goods  concentrate  their 
sales  appeal  by  calling  particular  attention  to  two  or  three 
vital  points  in  an  article  rather  than  by  offering  a  wide 
number  of  arguments.  Before  the  salesman  can  sell  his 
merchandise  he  must  sell  his  own  personality.  After 
having  made  good  in  this  one  particular  he  must  stick  to 
plain,  sincere  talk  and  not  slip  off  into  oratory.  If  ob- 
servation tells  the  seller  that  his  prospect  is  highly  edn- 


148         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

cated  he  must  present  his  complete  line  of  facts.  If  the 
buyer,  however,  is  of  the  heart  type  the  seller's  aim  must 
be  to  reach  the  imagination  or  emotion  of  his  prospect. 

No  more  powerful  argument  has  ever  been  invented  to 
persuade  a  prospect  to  buy  than  a  bunch  of  signed  orders 
showing  that  other  merchants  are  favorable  to  this  par- 
ticular line  of  goods.  If  the  prospect  finds  the  name  of  a 
friend  or  competitor  on  one  of  these  orders  this  style  of 
argument  is  doubly  strengthened.  Testimonials  do  not 
compare  in  value  at  all  with  actual  orders. 

Many  salesmen  pride  themselves  on  their  knowledge  or 
ability  to  analyze  character  through  a  study  of  a  man's 
physical  appearance.  The  most  common  conclusions  are 
that  gray  or  blue  eyes  indicate  a  cold  temperament  and 
precise  methods.  Thin  lips  with  such  eyes  indicate  a  still 
lower  temperature.  Straight  eyebrows  indicate  self-reli- 
ance, while  eyebrows  that  are  arched  express  temperament. 
Small  eyes  denote  an  analytical  mind,  while  large  eyes 
indicate  imagination  and  feeling.  A  projecting  fore- 
head is  supposed  to  show  some  weakness  of  will ;  a  broad, 
high  forehead  analysis  and  perseverance ;  while  a  retreat- 
ing forehead  indicates  perception  and  imagination.  A 
large  mouth  with  full  lips  manifests  good  sense,  energy 
and  good  nature.  A  small  mouth  suggests  pettiness. 
The  large  chin  represents  a  practical  disposition  and  a 
persistent  nature;  the  small  chin  indicates  petulance  and 
vacillation. 

Though  professing  to  beneve  in  the  possible  value  of 
such  physical  signs  of  character,  most  salesmen  have  dis- 
covered that  they  can  get  a  good  line  on  the  real  qualities 


THE  NEW  DAY  IN  SALESMANSHIP     149 

of  their  prospect  by  carefully  noting  the  condition  of  the 
buyer's  office,  desk  and  surroundings.  It  is  further  true 
that  in  many  .cases  a  man's  speed  of  speech  is  a  fair  indi- 
cation of  the  celerity  of  his.mental  processes.  Some  pros- 
pects are  filled  with  questions,  and  such  individuals  must 
be  supplied  with  a  quantity  of  facts  and  detail.  Other 
buyers  are  annoyed  by  detail  and  must  be  approached  and 
won  through  arguments  of  a  general  nature,  holding  forth 
the  large  advantages  of  the  merchandise. 

The  psychological  moment  in  the  art  of  selling  is  when 
the  buyer  is  supposed  to  sign  the  order.  Many  a  sales- 
man has  succeeded  in  winning  over  his  man,  and  then  has 
talked  himself  out  of  what  would  have  been  a  sure  sale 
if  he  had  only  known  when  to  stop.  Ability  to  determine 
the  moment  when  conviction  has  been  established  is  one 
of  the  highest  qualities  of  selling.  The  salesman  who 
does  not  save  hammer  blows  for  use  in  closing  has  not 
prepared  himself  in  thorough  manner  for  his  work. 

It  is  no  longer  true  that  price  makes  the  market.  Peo- 
ple to-day  are  willing  to  pay  a  higher  price  for  an  article 
when  they  know  that  they  are  buying  security,  reputation, 
style,  appearance  or  purity  with  it.  One  investigator 
maintains  that  more  articles  can  be  sold  at  twenty-one 
cents  than  at  nineteen  because  of  the  feeling  on  the  part 
of  the  buyer  that  at  twenty-one  cents  the  article  has  had  a 
four-cent  cut,  while  at  nineteen  cents  it  has  been  reduced 
only  one  penny.  It  is  likewise  true  that  in  the  minds  of 
many  purchasers  the  price  of  an  article  actually  deter- 
mines its  quality.  Many  cases  have  occurred  where  in 
testing  human  nature  articles  of  considerable  value  have 


150         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

been  offered  at  a  ridiculous  price  without  attracting  a 
purchaser,  the  conclusion  being  that  when  anything  is  too 
cheap  most  prospective  buyers  are  skeptical. 

It  is  the  nature  of  a  majority  of  salesmen  to  overrate 
the  methods  and  goods  of  their  competitors  and  secretly 
underrate  many  of  the  merits  of  their  own  products. 
This  condition  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  salesman  is  the 
one  person  who  always  is  informed  by  prospective  buyers 
of  the  cheapness  and  excellence  of  the  other  fellow's 
goods.  Sometimes  the  seller  hears  so  much  of  this  talk 
that  he  commences  to  believe  it  and  then  busies  himself 
in  an  effort  to  persuade  his  own  company  to  reduce  prices. 
There  are  cases  on  record  where  prices  have  been  reduced 
to  satisfy  such  a  demand,  and  the  result  has  been  disas- 
trous. In  several  instances  of  this  kind  consumers  have 
refused  to  buy  at  the  lower  price  because  of  a  suspicion 
that  the  quality  of  the  article  had  been  lowered. 

In  this  new  day  of  salesmanship  and  sales  management 
we  have  reached  the  commencement  of  an  era  when  sci- 
entific methods  will  be  substituted  more  and  more  for 
superstitious  beliefs  and  hit-or-miss  plans.  All  modern 
companies  have  learned  that  a  business  built  on  nothing 
more  lasting  than  a  personal  good  will  has  an  unstable 
foundation.  Great  corporations  have  discovered  the 
value  of  indirect  action.  Large  central-station  companies 
producing  electricity  have  gone  into  the  manufacture  and 
sale  of  electrical  appliances,  not  to  make  money  on  these 
articles,  but  to  create  a  larger  demand  for  electric 
current.  One  large  manufacturer  of  bookcases  increases 
the  sales  of  his  product  by  carrying  on  a  campaign  of  edu- 


THE  NEW  DAY  IN  SALESMANSHIP     151 

cation  to  encourage  the  wider  reading  and  purchase  of 
books. 

Sales  managers  have  also  discovered  that  there  are 
better  ways  of  handling  men  than  those  that  prevailed  in 
years  past.  If  a  salesman  who  has  shown  some  degree  of 
ability  proves  to  be  a  failure  in  one  locality  he  is  now 
transferred  to  another  field  or  a  different  line  of  work, 
where  he  may  have  a  second  chance  to  prove  his  worth. 
The  day  of  the  man  with  many  side  lines  has  passed  and 
the  hour  of  concentrated  thought  and  ability  has  come. 

Few  managers  now  drive  their  salesmen  on  by  continual 
faultfinding.  The  newer  plan  is  to  take  the  man  com- 
pletely into  the  confidence  of  the  company,  ignoring  the 
fact  that  an  occasional  employee  might  undertake  to  profit 
by  the  inside  knowledge  he  has  gained  of  general  busi- 
ness conditions  and  the  company's  plans. 

It  is  now  understood  that  nagging  letters  reduce  rather 
than  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  average  salesman. 
Continual  criticism  from  the  home  office  will  do  more  than 
anything  else  to  kill  the  seller's  ambition.  Wise  manag- 
ers now  find  it  best  to  encourage  a  salesman  until  there  is 
no  further  doubt  that  the  man  is  a  failure,  when  his 
services  are  promptly  dispensed  with. 

Buying  is  but  the  climax  of  confidence.  The  creation 
of  this  confidence  in  buyers  can  only  be  accomplished  by 
an  efficient  selling  organization,  which  cannot  be  created 
in  an  hour.  Every  sales  organization  should  be  regarded 
as  the  motive  power  of  the  company.  It  is  likewise  an 
accurate  reflection  of  the  sales  manager's  ability  and  the 
company's  policy.  When  a  corporation  first  starts  its 


152         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

green  salesmen  as  students  in  the  factory,  then  teaches 
them  the  principal  selling  points  of  their  merchandise, 
and  finally  trains  them  skillfully  to  meet  objections,  it  has 
created  sellers  who  are  equipped  to  overcome  exceptional 
difficulties  and  procure  satisfactory  results  for  the  com- 
pany. If  in  addition  this  same  concern  does  not  overlook 
the  fact  that  its  salesmen  cannot  sell  an  article  in  which 
they  themselves  lack  confidence,  and  further  that  the  best 
kind  of  enthusiasm  is  not  that  developed  by  ginger  talk 
but  by  the  opportunity  to  earn  a  handsome  money  re- 
ward, the  company  may  rest  secure  in  the  wisdom  of  its 
policy  and  the  solidity  of  the  business  foundation  it  is 
building. 

FLOYD  PARSONS. 


PART  III 
VOCATIONS  FOR  GIRLS 


MISS  JONES  LANDS  A  JOB 

ON  the  night  before  the  memorable  day  when  Mary 
was  to  seek  employment,  the  Jones  family  gathered 
in  council,  and  the  prospective  saleswoman  was  so  filled 
with  feminine  advice  that  her  inexperienced  mind  was 
quite  bewildered  by  the  multitude  of  "  don'ts"  that  were 
designed  to  safeguard  her  against  errors  that  were  sup- 
posed to  be  fatal  in  the  game  of  hunting  a  job. 

When  the  morning  arrived,  this  youngest  daughter  was 
brushed  and  polished  to  suit  the  critical  taste  of  her  fam- 
ily, and  long  before  nine  o'clock  had  left  her  sisters  at 
the  ferry  on  their  way  to  business  and  was  waiting  uneas- 
ily in  the  office  of  the  employment  bureau  of  a  large  de- 
partment store  in  New  York's  most  famous  retail  dis- 
trict. Other  applicants  came  in  one  by  one,  and  soon 
there  were  seven  hopeful  members  in  the  party,  the 
girls  being  separated  from  the  men. 

Then  the  long-anticipated  ordeal  began.  A  pleasant 
young  woman  gave  each  applicant  a  blank  form  to  fill  out. 
Not  having  had  previous  experience,  there  was  not  much 
for  Mary  to  write  on  the  sheet,  except  that  she  lived  at 
home,  had  finished  one  year  of  high  school,  and  could 
give  the  names  of  her  minister  and  an  old  family  friend 
as  her  references. 

The  applications  were  collected,  and  half  an  hour  later 
Mary  was  asked  to  step  into  the  office  of  the  employment 
manager,  where  she  met  a  tall,  dark,  polite  young  man 

155 


156         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

who  sat  at  a  large  flat-top  desk  with  a  good-sized  mirror 
standing  upright  upon  it.  He  requested  her  to  remove 
her  hat,  and  then  asked  her  many  questions,  most  of 
which  appeared  to  have  no  bearing  on  the  work  in  hand. 
The  one  thing  that  Mary  failed  to  notice  were  the  glances 
the  employment  manager  cast  toward  the  mirror,  where, 
quite  unknown  to  her,  he  could  scan  the  image  of  her  face 
and  hair. 

It  was  right  here  that  our  aspiring  young  applicant 
came  near  meeting  defeat.  She  did  not  know  that  one  of 
the  chief  requisites  for  employment  as  a  saleswoman  in  a 
high-class  store  is  a  neatly  dressed  head  of  hair.  Only 
that  morning  Mary  had  accepted  the  suggestion  of  her 
older  sister,  and  instead  of  her  usual  simple  coiffure  had 
dressed  her  hair  in  a  barbarous  style  that  was  a  sort  of 
cross  between  the  coiffure  of  a  Hottentot  and  a  Fiji 
Islander. 

Mary  entertained  no  suspicion  that  the  man  she  faced 
was  a  college  graduate  with  years  of  experience  in  the 
concentrated  study  mostly  of  feminine  types  and  their 
adaptability  to  the  business  of  selling  merchandise  to  a 
great  cosmopolitan  clientele.  Little  did  she  realize  that 
he  was  trying  to  form  a  picture  of  how  she  would  look 
with  her  hair  changed,  nor  did  she  know  that  if  she  got 
the  job  the  first  action  of  the  employment  manager  would 
be  an  order  to  one  of  his  women  assistants  tactfully  to  re- 
quest the  Jones  girl  to  reduce  substantially  the  compass 
of  area  occupied  by  her  fluffed  hair. 

At  any  rate,  the  manager  completed  his  survey  of  the 
new  applicant,  and  turned  her  over  to  a  young  woman, 
who  conducted  her  to  a  room  where  further  strange  ques- 


MISS  JONES  LANDS  A  JOB  157 

tions  were  asked.  Once  more  Mary  was  puzzled,  and 
again  she  did  not  know  that  she  was  in  the  hands  of  a 
young  woman  who  had  graduated  from  a  great  university 
and  whose  profession  was  vocational  psychology.  Even 
if  she  had  known  that  she  was  now  in  a  research  labora- 
tory where  human  qualities  are  tested  very  much  as  chem- 
icals are  analyzed,  the  knowledge  would  have  meant  little 
to  her. 

But  she  was  in  earnest,  and  readily  complied  with  all 
the  requests  of  the  young  woman  examiner.  It  was  ap- 
parent to  her  that  they  wanted  to  test  her  eyesight  when 
she  was  asked  to  read  words  of  diminishing  size  on  a  large 
card  twenty  or  more  feet  distant.  But  it  was  all  Greek 
to  Mary  when  they  gave  her  a  pencil  and  paper  with  a 
column  of  strange  words,  each  one  of  which  seemed  to  be 
nothing  but  a  jumble  of  letters.  She  was  told  that  the 
words  were  the  names  of  animals,  and  was  asked  to  see 
how  quickly  she  could  write  the  correct  names  alongside 
the  words  with  the  misplaced  letters.  The  first  word  was 
niol,  and  she  quickly  wrote  lion.  Then  came  tgrei,  and 
she  wrote  tiger.  But  farther  down  the  list,  where  the 
words  were  longer,  it  was  not  so  easy.  It  took  her  sev- 
eral seconds  to  discover  that  clreoicdo  spelled  crocodile, 
and  she  was  only  half  finished  with  the  column  when  she 
was  stopped  by  the  examiner,  who  —  unknown  to  her  — 
had  watched  the  time  and  had  allowed  ninety  seconds  for 
the  test. 

Our  young  applicant  next  started  on  a  list  of  cities 
where  the  letters  of  each  word  were  again  scrambled. 
This  time  she  showed  her  smartness  by  skipping  several 
difficult  words  on  her  way  down  the  list,  and  by  so  doing 


158         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

managed  to  get  to  the  bottom  and  had  finished  recon- 
structing several  of  the  hard  names  she  had  first  omitted 
before  the  allotted  time  was  up.  That  the  examiner  was 
pleased  with  her  effort  Mary  could  plainly  see,  and  her 
hopes  were  again  restored  by  this  show  of  encouragement. 

Next  she  was  examined  in  color  naming,  then  in  num- 
ber checking,  and  in  other  tests  too  complicated  to  de- 
scribe, but  all  designed  to  grade  her  in  mental  intelligence. 
She  passed  the  physical  examination  with  flying  colors, 
and  a  little  later  was  called  to  the  desk  of  the  employment 
manager,  where  she  signed  the  employees'  agreement  that 
bound  her  faithfully  to  perform  her  work  and  to  become 
a  member  of  the  company's  Mutual  Aid  Association.  Be- 
fore leaving  she  was  given  a  manual  of  information  for 
employees  which  she  was  asked  to  read  carefully,  and  was 
told  to  report  in  the  morning. 

All  that  afternoon  at  home  Mary  studied  the  book  of 
store  information.  She  learned  that  if  she  were  neither 
late  nor  absent  for  all  or  any  part  of  a  day  for  four  con- 
secutive weeks  she  would  be  allowed  one  half  day's  sum- 
mer vacation.  This  meant  that  if'  she  could  keep  up  a 
perfect  record  until  the  following  summer  the  company 
would  grant  her  an  additional  week's  vacation  with  pay. 
But  she  also  found  that  if  she  were  late  four  times  in  any 
four  consecutive  weeks  the  penalty  was  one  day's  suspen- 
sion. In  case  of  sickness  the  employee  was  to  notify  the 
Mutual  Aid  Association,  and  prompt  assistance  would  be 
rendered  by  one  of  the  three  nurses  or  two  doctors  who 
were  in  the  regular  employ  of  the  company. 

After  carefully  noting  the  instructions  concerning  the 
color  and  style  of  clothing  and  shoes  she  should  wear  at 


MISS  JONES  LANDS  A  JOB  159 

business,  Mary  studied  the  remarks  on  unnecessary  waste. 
She  was  informed  as  to  the  proper  use  of  twine  and  wrap- 
ping paper,  the  handling  of  delicate  fabrics  with  soiled 
hands  on  dusty  counters,  the  throwing  away  of  useful 
lengths  of  cord  or  rope,  the  careless  dropping  of  fresh 
wrapping  paper  to  be  trodden  upon  and  the  waste  from 
using  paper  to  protect  one's  sleeves.  Other  rules  warned 
against  loitering  about  the  store,  chewing  gum  and  smok- 
ing, reading  books  or  letters,  leaving  a  department  with- 
out permission,  and  taking  cloaks,  hats,  umbrellas,  bags, 
and  lunches  to  the  department  where  the  employee  works. 

The  manual  further  stated  that  promotion  was  sure 
to  follow  a  display  of  ability  and  willingness,  for  the 
policy  was  to  fill  all  vacancies,  when  possible,  by  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  company's  employees.  In  case  of  an 
opening  in  any  department,  the  plan  was  to  post  a  notice 
to  that  effect,  and  all  employees  were  invited  to  apply  for 
any  vacant  position  they  believed  they  could  properly  fill. 
Each  month  three  prizes  were  given  to  the  employees  who 
made  the  best  three  suggestions  for  the  betterment  of 
store  service.  Boxes  were  located  in  convenient  places, 
and  the  ideas  intended  for  entry  in  this  contest  were  to  be 
plainly  written  and  dropped  into  one  of  these  boxes.  The 
first  prize  was  ten  dollars,  the  second  five  dollars,  and  the 
third  two  dollars. 

Perhaps  nothing  interested  Mary  more  than  the  de- 
scription of  the  department  of  training.  She  found  that 
a  part  of  every  day  was  to  be  devoted  to  class  work,  where 
she  would  be  instructed  in  store  system  and  all  the  intri- 
cacies of  salesmanship.  If  she  preferred,  she  might  learn 
to  operate  an  adding-machine,  a  dictating-machine,  or  one 


160         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

of  the  other  mechanical  devices  used  in  large  business 
houses.  She  read  that  there  was  a  special  officer,  the 
assistant  superintendent  of  training,  whose  duty  it  was 
to  interest  herself  in  each  of  the  girls,  both  at  the  store  and 
at  their  homes,  when  it  was  so  desired.  It  was  this 
woman's  duty  to  listen  to  the  various  tales  of  woe,  to 
advise  in  business  and  personal  matters,  and  to  render 
material  help,  even  to  advancing  money  in  cases  where 
the  need  was  urgent. 

The  information  that  was  given  concerning  the  recrea- 
tion-room, where  employees  might  rest  and  read  in  com- 
fort during  their  lunch-time,  appealed  to  Mary's  sense  of 
justice.  Being  fond  of  reading,  her  attention  was  also 
engaged  by  the  facts  and  rules  concerning  the  library  that 
was  solely  for  the  use  of  employees. 

It  was  news  to  her  that  New  York  stores  provided  fa- 
cilities to  enable  their  workers  to  save  money.  She 
learned  that  this  concern  operated  a  branch  of  a  big  New 
York  bank,  and  that  any  amount  of  money  from  five 
cents  up  was  accepted  for  deposit. 

She  learned  that  the  Mutual  Aid  Association  was  gov- 
erned entirely  by  the  workers  themselves.  All  matters  of 
information  concerning  the  society  were  posted  regularly, 
so  that  every  employee  at  all  times  might  know  the  exact 
state  of  affairs  of  the  association.  The  dues  were  never 
to  exceed  ten  cents  a  week,  and  each  girl,  after  being  in 
the  company's  service  three  months,  was  given  an  insur- 
ance policy  for  five  hundred  dollars,  which  insurance  was 
increased  one  hundred  dollars  a  year  until  it  reached  a 
total  of  three  thousand  dollars.  This  information  was 
read  aloud  to  Mary's  mother,  whose  struggles  with  life's 


MISS  JONES  LANDS  A  JOB  161 

vicissitudes  had  rendered  her  appreciative  of  any  and  all 
safeguards. 

Our  youthful  aspirant  skipped  hastily  through  the  par- 
agraphs devoted  to  a  description  of  the  summer  camp 
that  the  company  maintained  for  its  women  employees. 
She  was  satisfied  with  storing  in  her  memory  that  the 
rates  for  board  were  moderate  and  the  railway  fare  to  the 
vacation  house  not  excessive.  Vacations  were  a  long  way 
off,  while  other  matters  were  pressing. 

The  comments  in  the  manual  now  turned  to  such  mat- 
ters as  the  treatment  of  customers  and  the  store's  informa- 
tion bureau.  The  prospective  employee  was  told  how 
important  it  was  that  courtesy  and  accuracy  should  be 
observed  in  directing  customers  where  to  find  merchan- 
dise. It  was  pointed  out  that  the  shopper  might  ask  for 
leather  goods,  and  in  such  case  it  was  necessary  to  in- 
quire as  to  what  kind  of  article  was  wanted.  Pocket- 
books  and  traveling  bags  are  both  made  of  leather,  but 
are  sold  in  different  departments.  Each  girl  who  had  not 
memorized  the  store  directory  was  advised  to  consult  her 
handbook  containing  an  alphabetical  list  of  articles  arid 
departments,  in  directing  shoppers.  The  rules  stated  that 
under  no  circumstance  should  a  salesgirl  resort  to  guess- 
ing and  thereby  jeopardize  the  good- will  of  a  customer. 

Special  notice  was  included  to  exercise  care  in  making 
promises  of  delivery  and  other  matters,  so  that  disappoint- 
ment should  not  result  from  failure  to  fulfill  the  assur- 
ance given.  Other  instructions  imparted  knowledge  as 
to  what  must  be  done  in  case  a  customer  was  taken  ill 
suddenly,  and  how  the  sick  person  should  be  sent  in  a 
wheel  chair  to  the  emergency  hospital. 


162         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

Following  these  directions,  Mary  read  with  wonder  of 
the  services  the'store  was  prepared  to  render  its  custom- 
ers. One  department  was  equipped  to  purchase  railroad, 
steamship,  and  theater  tickets ;  to  issue  and  cash  express 
orders ;  to  conduct  a  post-office ;  to  send  telegrams ;  to 
procure  hotel  reservations;  to  arrange  special  tours;  and 
to  act  as  agent  for  express  and  transfer  companies  —  all 
free  of  charge.  If  a  non-English-speaking  customer 
happened  to  come  in,  an  interpreter  was  available  to  make 
known  the  stranger's  wishes.  Should  a  patron  desire  ad- 
vice in  shopping,  there  was  a  personal  service  bureau 
ready  to  render  assistance. 

The  remainder  of  the  manual  contained  instructions 
that  were  not  plain  to  a  novice  like  Mary.  Much  detail 
dealt  with  the  work  of  cashiers  and  checkers,  and  told  how 
to  mark  and  stamp  sales  checks,  how  to  make  change 
quickly,  and  how  to  use  the  carriers.  In  order  to  en- 
courage accuracy,  premiums  were  offered  for  the  detec- 
tion of  errors,  and  it  was  particularly  stated  that  no 
money  given  for  these  rewards  was  deducted  from  the 
salary  of  any  clerk,  so  that  no  employee  should  hesitate 
to  report  an  error  through  fear  that  some  fellow  worker 
might  be  injured. 

Two  further  points  were  of  interest  to  her.  One  ex- 
plained the  arrangements  that  were  made  to  permit  any 
employee  to  shop,  and  contained  the  good  news  that  a  dis- 
count would  be  allowed  on  all  purchases.  The  other 
suggestion  pertained  to  the  company's  publicity,  and 
stated  that,  since  the  permanent  success  of  the  store  de- 
pended largely  upon  the  truth  and  correctness  of  the 
firm's  advertisements,  the  company  would  pay  one  dollar 


MISS  JONES  LANDS  A  JOB  163 

to  the  employee  who  first  called  the  attention  of  the  man- 
ager's office  to  any  exaggeration,  mistake  in  printed  price, 
grammatical  error,  false  statement,  or  misspelled  word 
that  appeared  in  any  newspaper  or  other  announcement. 
Having  mastered  all  the  rules  and  regulations  that  were 
understandable,  our  prospective  saleswoman  called  it  a 
day's  work,  and  retired  that  night  with  the  happy  thought 
of  a  great  adventure  well  begun. 

When  Mary  arrived  at  the  store  in  the  morning,  she  was 
sent  up  to  school,  where  thirty  minutes  were  devoted  to  a* 
study  of  the  company's  rules  and  policies,  after  which  an 
hour  was  taken  up  by  lessons  in  store  system.  Next  she 
was  sent  to  the  head  of  the  contingent  force,  a  trained 
teacher,  upon  whose  shoulders  rests  the  responsibility  of 
properly  placing  each  new  girl  in  the  department  for 
which  she  is  best  qualified.  About  fifty  girls  were  al- 
ready in  the  contingent  department,  and  she  learned  that 
frequently  a  whole  month  is  devoted  to  this  work  by  a 
new  girl.  She  soon  discovered  the  basis  of  the  plan  that 
is  followed.  Each  new  employee  is  tried  out  in  different 
departments  during  their  time  of  contingent  service. 

One  girl,  called  Jerry,  who  had  already  sold  everything 
from  notions  to  wicker  furniture,  enlightened  Mary  on 
many  points.  She  told  her  that  much  depended  on  the 
impression  a  girl  made  on  the  department  head.  But  she 
explained  that  different  departments  required  different 
mental  and  physical  types.  In  order  to  sell  veiling  a  girl 
had  to  be  rather  tall  on  account  of  the  height  of  the 
counters,  and  must  have  an  attractive  face  and  well  mani- 
cured hands,  because  she  had  continually  to  hold  the  veil- 
ings over  her  face  to  display  them  properly.  She  said 


164         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

only  special  types  could  sell  evening  gowns;  and  as  for 
suits,  she  knew  as  a  fact  that  only  last  week,  out  of  ten 
contingent  girls  who  were  sent  down  to  work  in  a  suit 
sale,  but  three  of  them  were  recommended  by  the  depart- 
ment head  as  being  qualified  for  that  kind  of  selling. 

Mary  was  sent  to  the  hosiery  department  to  gain  her 
first  experience,  and  when  she  went  to  lunch  two  hours 
later  she  was  very  proud  of  the  fact  that  she  had  really 
made  some  splendid  sales.  Sitting  beside  her  at  the  lunch- 
table  was  a  little  girl  about  her  own  age,  who  had  form- 
erly worked  in  a  hat  factory  on  Houston  Street.  This 
young  woman  was  disturbed  over  the  fact  that  her  work 
had  appeared  to  be  unsatisfactory,  and  she  had  been  sent 
to  the  employment  manager's  office  to  explain  her  trouble. 

She  had  told  the  manager  frankly  that  she  did  find  it 
hard  to  keep  her  stock  in  order,  but  that  there  wasn't  a 
girl  in  the  department  who  kept  the  buttons  and  hooks  and 
eyes  in  better  shape.  She  saw  to  it  that  in  her  stock  none 
were  missing.  That  night,  on  the  way  out,  Mary  met  the 
same  little  girl,  and  found  her  very  happy  over  the  fact 
that  she  had  been  transferred  to  a  department  where  she 
had  lots  of  sewing  to  do  —  and  she  just  loved  to  sew. 
The  cloud  in  her  young  life  had  disappeared,  for  she  no 
longer  had  to  keep  stock. 

Three  weeks  passed  before  Mary  finally  left  the  con- 
tingent department  and  was  given  a  regular  job  selling 
cretonnes  and  similar  draperies.  Already  she  had  at- 
tended one  lecture  at  the  Museum  of  Art,  where  with  a 
group  of  her  fellow-workers  she  had  heard  a  wonderful 
talk  on  interior  decoration.  Her  friend  Jerry  had  been 
placed  in  the  yarn  department,  and  had  just  returned  from 


MISS  JONES  LANDS  A  JOB  165 

Philadelphia,  where  she  and  other  girls  selling  yarns  had 
been  taken  to  visit  a  great  mill  where  yarns  like  those  sold 
in  the  store  were  manufactured. 

Mary  now  has  her  insurance  policy  and  is  a  full-fledged 
salesgirl.  Only  the  other  day  the  buyer  for  her  depart- 
ment told  me  that  the  Jones  girl  knew  more  about  cre- 
tonnes and  the  patterns  printed  on  them  than  he  did  him- 
self. He  stated  further  that  several  customers  had  com- 
mented on  the  girl's  unusual  knowledge  concerning  in- 
terior decorations,  and  mentioned  that  everything  was  be- 
ing done  to  encourage  her  interest  and  enthusiasm. 

The  employment  manager,  who  was  standing  beside  us, 
smiled  and  remarked  that  "  the  further  we  go  in  this  busi- 
ness of  making  a  real  science  of  salesmanship,  the  more 
girls  we  will  have  like  Mary,  who  is  handling  the  things 
she  appreciates  and  is  doing  the  work  she  enjoys." 

The  manager  went  on  to  tell  me  how  one  girl  may 
possess  an  active  mind  and  yet  be  clumsy  with  her  fingers. 
She  should  never  be  put  to  doing  things  that  require  man- 
ual dexterity.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  girls  who  are 
mentally  slow  but  very  nimble  with  their  fingers,  and  such 
girls  fail  in  jobs  that  necessitate  brisk  thought.  In  other 
words,  the  mental  and  physical  agility  of  the  individual 
must  be  determined,  and  the  job  fitted  to  the  person,  not 
the  person  to  the  job. 

Later,  as  I  walked  through  the  store's  restaurant,  where 
Mary  and  all  the  other  five  thousand  or  more  employees 
ate  their  noonday  meal,  I  marveled  at  the  immensity  of 
these  great  commercial  establishments.  Here  we  found 
an  equipment  to  feed  thousands  of  workers,  in  addition 
to  the  hundreds  of  customers  who  eat  in  a  public  restau- 


166         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

rant  on  the  same  floor.  The  average  check  of  the  sales- 
girls is  fourteen  cents. 

In  answer  to  my  question  concerning  the  benefits  that 
were  resulting  from  the  application  of  more  modern  meth- 
ods to  the  employment  and  placement  of  help,  the  manager 
replied  that  there  were  six  principal  lines  of  endeavor,  all 
of  which  were  acting  to  reduce  the  labor  turnover  in  big 
department  stores. 

First,  there  were  the  efforts  to  establish  ideal  condi- 
tions. This  work  provided  food  for  employees  at  cost, 
and  a  roof  garden  or  recreation-room  for  the  workers. 

Second,  there  was  the  establishment  of  a  minimum 
wage  in  every  department.  Two  years  ag6  there  were 
jobs  that  paid  only  eight  dollars  a  week;  now  the  mini- 
mum wage  of  all,  even  packers,  is  fourteen  dollars.  No 
juniors  are  employed  unless  they  live  at  home. 

Third,  the  days  have  been  shortened.  The  closing  hour 
in  Fifth  Avenue  stores  is  now  five-thirty  in  the  winter 
and  five  o'clock  in  the  summer.  This  change  has  brought 
in  girls  who  formerly  would  work  only  in  offices  because 
they  objected  to  the  longer  hours. 

Fourth,  we  have  the  plan  of  group  insurance,  which 
forms  a  tie  with  the  home  of  the  employee. 

Fifth,  there  is  the  understanding  that  any  employee 
may  have  a  hearing  at  any  time,  and  the  additional  rul- 
ing that  requires  all  persons  before  leaving  the  company 
to  have  their  pay  slips  approved  by  the  employment  man- 
ager. This  provides  an  opportunity  to  find  out  what  the 
trouble  really  is.  In  many  cases  the  difficulty  can  be 
straightened  out  and  the  worker  saved  for  the  company. 
If  a  girl  has  been  offended  by  some  male  employee,  the 


MISS  JONES  LANDS  A  JOB  167 

two  are  brought  together,  and  the  man  may  have  to  leave 
instead  of  the  girl.  If  the  matter  is  trivial  the  whole  dif- 
ficulty may  be  smoothed  over.  This  plan  of  requiring 
every  one  to  report  before  leaving  the  company's  service 
often  provides  a  record  that  shows  up  an  inefficient  or 
overbearing  department  head. 

Sixth  and  last,  there  is  the  plan  of  having  department 
meetings,  where  the  workers  are  encouraged  to  discuss 
matters  honestly  and  frankly.  These  meetings  uncover 
many  ills  that  would  not  otherwise  have  come  to  light. 

It  has  been  shown  clearly  in  many  instances  that  em- 
ployees will  talk  more  freely  when  they  have  the  moral 
support  of  their  fellow- workers. 

One  big  store  employs  thirty  women  to  operate  the  ele- 
vators. Recently  a  stranger  stopped  in  and  pressed  a  slip 
of  paper  into  the  hand  of  each  elevator  girl.  The  note 
stated  that  a  job  with  record  wages  was  waiting  for  each 
operator  in  a  downtown  office  building.  This  act  of  po- 
lite robbery  was  immediately  exposed  at  a  meeting  of  the 
elevator  operators ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  higher  wages 
offered,  the  store  lost  but  two  of  its  women. 

In  concluding  my  look-in  on  department  stores,  I  car- 
ried away  a  somewhat  different  idea  of  the  business  from 
that  I  had  held  before.  Many  of  the  men  and  women 
who  are  drawing  big  salaries  as  expert  buyers  started  as 
messengers.  The  most  valued  buyer  in  one  of  the  two 
largest  stores  in  New  York  once  was  an  orphan  lad  run- 
ning about  the  city  streets,  virtually  without  home  or 
friends.  A  man  became  interested  in  the  boy  and  pro- 
cured a  job  for  him  as  a  store  messenger. 

When  we  realize  that  a  big  retail  establishment  with  a 


i68         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

pay-roll  of  five  thousand  workers  is  actually  the  equiva- 
lent of  a  city  of  eighteen  thousand  people,  as  far  as  the 
number  of  bread-winners  is  concerned,  it  is  easier  to  com- 
prehend the  ramifications  of  such  a  business,  and  to  under- 
stand the  need  for  methods  that  are  the  last  word  in  scien- 
tific completeness. 

Perhaps  it  is  this  newer  conception  of  things  that  is 
causing  the  progressive  stores  to  reach  out  to  the  colleges 
for  material  on  which  to  build  a  highly  trained  personnel. 
On  the  other  hand,  as  time  passes,  college  men  and  women 
will  look  upon  the  big  department  store  as  an  increasing 
field  of  opportunity.  The  fact  that  one  large  retail  es- 
tablishment in  New  York  already  has  a  special  squad  of 
college  men,  representing  ten  different  colleges,  is  but  a 
criterion  of  what  is  to  come. 

FLOYD  PARSONS. 


WHERE  YOUR  JOB  MAY  LEAD  TO 

WHILE  for  the  girl  of  more  than  ordinary  ability  or 
talent,  ambition,  and  energy  combine  to  bridge 
the  way  to  success,  for  the  average  self-supporting  girl 
there  is  no  terror  equal  to  the  apprehension  of  inefficiency. 
Fear  of  "  losing  her  job  "  overbalances  hope  of  advance- 
ment, outweighs  ambition,  and  makes  her  content  to  stay 
where  she  "does  not  belong.  And  yet,  if  she  realized  how 
to  utilize  present  opportunities  in  "  connecting  up  "  with 
better  or  more  congenial  work,  even  the  girl  of  only  av- 
erage ability  would  need  hardly  to  fear  at  all. 

The  special  opportunities  that  the  newspaper  business 
has  afforded  of  bringing  me  into  close  contact  with  work- 
ers of  all  kinds  forces  me  to  the  conclusion  that  the  whole 
problem  of  occupational  exchange  could  be  worked  out 
advantageously  for  women  in  a  wide  variety  of  employ- 
ments. This  research,  although  not  highly  systematized, 
has  revealed  some  interesting  facts,  one  in  especial  con- 
cerning opportunities  open  to  stenographers.  No  other 
business,  I  believe,  so  largely  occupied  by  women  lends 
itself  as  completely  as  an  incidental  preparation  for  othei 
fields  of  effort  as  does  stenography. 

Taking  the  careers  of  fifty  successful  business  women 
of  Cincinnati  as  the  basis  of  a  recent  special  survey,  I 
found  that  thirty-two  of  them  had  started  out  in  life  as 
stenographers  or  typists.  Two  of  these  thirty-two  are 
now  heads  of  business  colleges;  four  conduct  profitable 

169 


170         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

stenographic  bureaus ;  two  are  special  teachers  in  the  pub- 
lic schools;  two  are  successful  insurance  agents;  two  are 
lawyers;  two  are  heads  of  prosperous  restaurants;  two 
are  court  stenographers;  three  are  physicians;  three  are 
in  the  advertising  business ;  four  are  prosperous  real- 
estate  agents;  one  is  business  manager  of  a  newspaper; 
and  five  are  heads  of  business  departments  of  large 
stores. 

The  yearly  incomes  of  three  of  these  thirty-two  erst- 
while stenographers  —  the  newspaper  manager,  one  of  the 
business-college  principals,  and  one  of  the  department- 
store  heads  —  are  said  to  reach  a  good  deal  more  than 
three  thousand  dollars  each  a  year.  The  average  salary 
of  the  group  is  estimated  at  twenty-four  hundred  dollars. 
Not  one  of  them  earned  more  than  eight  dollars  a  week 
when  she  began. 

Not  fewer  than  ten  of  these  thirty-two  successful  busi- 
ness women  sought  new  avenues  of  effort  because  they 
had  been  discharged  from  their  first  positions.  Each  said 
virtually  the  same  thing :  "  I  would  never  have  dared  to 
leave,  although  I  just  hated  my  job.  I  had  to  be  '  fired  ' 
before  I  could  really  get  the  right  start." 

Admitting  that  stenography  offers  a  girl  the  best 
chances  of  advancement,  I  made  an  investigation  to  dis- 
cover what  profession  offers  the  poorest.  I  believe  that 
this  position  belongs  to  the  garment  workers,  and  my 
opinion  is  shared  by  Miss  Florence  M.  Marshall,  principal 
of  the  Manhattan  Trade  School  for  Girls  in  New  York 
City. 

As  was  to  be  expected,  I  found  that  transciency  of  oc- 
cupation seemed  to  constitute  the  greatest  bar  to  efforts 


WHERE  YOUR  JOB  MAY  LEAD  TO  171 

for  advancement  among  unskilled  and  low-skilled  woman 
workers.  Without  question  the  majority  of  girls  and 
younger  women  in  low-skilled  employments  look  to  mar- 
riage as  the  easiest  and  pleasantest  solution  of  their  eco- 
nomic problems,  and  are  therefore  lax  in  improving  op- 
portunities leading  to  occupational  advance.  But  I  was 
surprised  to  note  what  a  small  part  this  supposition  of 
transiency  played  in  the  higher  grades  of  women's  work. 

But,  even  granting  the  probability  of  marriage,  it  is 
nothing  less  than  pathetic  that  any  woman  should  ignore 
an  actual  opportunity  presented  by  her  occupation.  That 
woman  is  in  the  business  world  to  stay,  whatever  answer 
the  future  may  bring  to  the  sociological  part  of  the  prob- 
lem, is  surely  a  fact  too  obvious  for  intelligent  challenge. 
The  time  has  come,  in  fact,  when  a  woman  may  not  only 
enter  virtually  any  profession  or  engage  in  any  pursuit 
that  she  prefers,  but  when  she  is  also  free  to  devise  new 
activities,  useful  and  lucrative  occupations  not  yet  pre- 
sented to  the  less  imaginative  consciousness  of  man. 

Never  before  have  there  been  so  many  opportunities 
of  advancement  afforded  to  women.  But  the  novice  must 
have  a  two-edged  sword  to  fight  with  —  preparation  and 
efficiency.  The  girl  who  goes  to  work  with  the  question 
"  What  next?  "  on  her  lips  will  probably  find  opportunity 
answering  her  question ;  while  the  woman  who  flinches, 
and  who  prayerfully  hangs  on  to  a  poor  position,  will 
never  be  able  to  cross  the  bridge  leading  to  greener  pas- 
tures. 

Following  is  a  chart  that  may  be  of  service  to  those  who 
are  willing  to  expend  a  little  energy  to  gratify  an  ambi- 
tion. The  purpose  of  the  chart  is  merely  to  suggest  fur- 


172         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

ther  possibilities  in  the  way  of  systematizing  the  relation- 
ships between  typical  occupations,  and  to  point  out  a 
very  few  of  the  occupational  by-products  fchat  may  be  re- 
garded as  connecting  links. 


Present 
Occupation 

Affords  Training  in  the 
Following 

Leading  to   Occupation  of 

Bookkeeper 

Knowledge   of  financial  trans- 
i     actions 
!  Business  system 
Quickness    and    correctness    in 
calculating 

Expert   accountant 
Public  auditor 
Broker 
Investment  banker 

Cashier 

Skill   in  handling  currency 
Knowledge  of  human  nature 
Skill   on   adding-machine 

Bank    assistant 
Head  of  credit  department 
Adding-machine    agent 

Children's   Nurse 

Skill  in  treating  child  ailments 
Acquaintanceship  among  fam- 
ilies 
Ability  to  amuse 
Knowledge  of  child  nature 

Trained  nurse 
Playground   supervisor 
Director  of  children's  entertain- 
ments 
Caterer  for  children's  parties 

Cook 

Skill  in  food  preparation 
Knowledge  of  food  cost 

Caterer 
Head  of  institution  kitchens 
Hotel  chef 

Dancing  teacher 

Methods    of    teaching     grace, 
poise,   etc. 
Wide  acquaintanceship 
Skill   in   physical   culture,   hy- 
giene, etc. 

Physical    director    of    school    or 
institution 
Head  of  college  for  public 
dancing 
Supervisor  of  public  dances 
Head  of  health  institute  founded 
on  hygienic  dancing 

Dressmaker 

Knowledge  of  textiles,  designs, 
etc. 
Skill  in  buying 
Business  acquaintanceship 

Professional  designer 
Textile  demonstrator 
Head  of  fashion  shop 
Professional  shopper 

Governess 

Training  in  foreign  languages 
Skill  in  travel 
Knowledge  of  child  processes 
Art  of  teaching 

Head  of  girls'  school 
Teacher  of  languages 
Chaperone  of  tourist  parties 
Social  secretary 

Housekeeper 

Skill   in   household   manage- 
ment 
Skill  in  buying  food,   textiles, 
and  other  supplies 

Matron  of   institution 
Hotel    housekeeper 
Management  of  private  hotel 
Linen  manufacturer's  agent 

WHERE  YOUR  JOB  MAY  LEAD  TO    173 


Present 
Occupation 

Affords   Training   in    the 
Following 

Leading  to  Occupation  of 

Journalist 

Special     knowledge     of     civic 
conditions    and     community 
needs 
Habit   of  exactness   in    stating 
facts 
Skill  in  character  study 
General  information 

Publicity  agent 
Magazine  writer 
Head  of  philanthropic  or  correc- 
tional   institution 
Lecturer 

Laundry  worker 

Knowledge    of    fabrics    and 
cleansing    processes 

Head  of  dry-cleaning  or  of  fine 
French   laundry 

Stenographer 

Working    knowledge     of    em- 
ployer's  business 
Habit  of  concentration 
Acquaintanceship    with     busi- 
ness methods 
Skill  in  shorthand  and  as 
typist 

Head  of  institution  laundry 
Head  of  stenographic  bureau 
Head  of  business  similar  to  em- 
ployer's 
Head  of  abstract  bureau 
Attorney 
Notary  public 
Court  stenographer 
Typewriter  demonstrator 

Trained  Nurse 

Knowledge    of   sanitation    and 
disease  prevention 
Human  insight 
Knowledge  of  dieting 
Habit  of  authority 

Physician 
Head  of  sanitarium 
Traveling  companion 
Specialist    in    reducing    and    re- 
storing weight 

Teachers 

Habit  of  systematic  planning 
Exact  knowledge  of  historical, 
geographical,  and  literary 
facts 
Habit  of  careful  judgment 
Knowledge  of  human  nature 
Special  knowledge  of  children 

Journalist 
Lecturer 
Writer  of  text-books 
Head  of  special  private  school 
Head  of  extension  schools  main- 
tained by  large  industries 
Text-book  salesman 

RUTH  NEELY. 


THE  GIRL  OF  TO-MORROW 

THE  girl  of  yesterday  we  grown   folks  all  know. 
We  went  to  school  with  her,  we  went  off  to  col- 
lege with  her  —  the  same  college  if  our  lot  was  cast  in  a 
co-educational   democracy. 

The  education  of  the  girl  of  yesterday  —  we  all  know 
that,  too.  It  was  the  education  of  the  boy  of  yesterday. 
It  lay  first  of  all  in  the  public  school,  or  in  favored  com- 
munities in  the  kindergarten  where  "  gifts"  were  ex- 
pected to  create  in  the  child  mind  a  certain  world-view 
dreamed  by  a  German  philosopher,  but  where  in  reality 
social  activities  and  games  first  brought  little  barbarians 
to  the  yoke. 

And  through  this  kindergarten  porch  the  girl  01  yester- 
day went  into  a  graded  place  called  a  school  —  a  sort  of 
temple  of  knowledge  with  many  great  terraces,  on  each  of 
which  she  lingered  a  year.  And  there  she  mastered 
numerals  and  letters  and  numbers  and  words,  and  learned 
how  these  odd  dead  things  made  books,  readers  and  spell- 
ers, and  more  spellers  and  readers,  and  geographies  and 
histories  and  grammars.  Yet  all  this  was  for  her  only  a 
confusion  of  memorized  symbols  and  words,  a  veritable 
desert  relieved  by  occasional  vivid  teaching.  Outside  the 
school  it  was  that  the  girl  of  yesterday  had  her  real  educa- 
tion—  on  the  playground,  in  the  yard  and  garden  at 
home,  in  the  house  with  the  family  group  —  wherever,  in 

174 


THE  GIRL  OF  TO-MORROW  175 

fact,  real  interests  and  activities  took  hold  on  life  itself 
and  shaped  mind  and  purpose. 

From  the  graded  school  the  girl  of  yesterday  went  on 
to  the  classical  high  school.  How  wistfully  and  fear- 
fully she  had  looked  across  the  green  to  the  academy! 
And  when  the  Irish  janitor  —  rest  to  his  soul !  —  one 
day  brought  across  the  academy  skeleton,  "  that  the 
eighth-grade  children  might  see  how  they  were  made," 
the  girl  of  yesterday  wondered  whether  she  must  learn 
the  two  hundred  and  eight  bones  —  or  was  it  two  hundred 
and  six  ?  —  when  she  too  reached  the  high-school  yonder. 
In  due  time  she  arrived  there,  and  found  it  all,  alas,  a 
place  of  bones,  not  only  in  physiology,  but  bones  in  his- 
tory — "  name  the  Presidents  in  order,"  or  "  Who  were 
the  nine  muses?  "  and  bones  in  Latin — "do,  dare,  dedi, 
datum  ";  and  often  only  bones  in  literature  — "  give 
names  and  dates  of  Scott's  novels."  Lucky  that  life  went 
on  in  social  groups,  in  school  and  out,  and  in  the  home ! 

Occasionally  the  high-school  girl  of  yesterday  won- 
dered what  she  would  do  when  school  days  were  over, 
and  of  all  professions  teaching  alone  seemed  open  to  her. 
All  the  world  is  a  sea  to  the  sailor;  and,  to  girls  just  fin- 
ishing the  old-time  school,  teaching  seemed  the  only  pro- 
fession. 

The  old  high-school  course  —  with  its  algebra  never 
applied  in  life,  its  analytical  study  of  literature,  its  stilted 
compositions,  its  endless  translations  and  paradigms  — 
employed  the  mind  in  innocent  exercises.  That  this  had 
something  of  useful  discipline  we  will  not  deny;  but  it 
gave  no  practical  training  for  life.  As  the  student  grew 
to  maturity,  her  knowledge  of  the  world  as  it  is  came 


176         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

through   outside   experiences,   and   widened  —  if    it   did 
widen  —  more  despite  the  high  school  than  because  of  it. 
Of  the  girls  of  yesterday  who  started  in  the  elementary 
school,  one  in  ten  received  a  high-school  education ;  and 
fewer  than  one  in  a  hundred  of  those  who  finished  high 
school  went  on  to  college.     To  those  who  went  to  college, 
education  was  offering,  at  best,  only  a  continuation  of  the 
literary  curriculum  of  the  high  school.     Brave  women  in 
the  last  generation  had  demanded  women's  colleges  and 
women's  departments  in  universities;  but  what  courses 
they  gained  were  largely  serving  to  perpetuate  literary 
culture  and  to  prepare  for  teaching.     Matthew  Vassar's 
fine  aim,  to  train  women  to  be  self-supporting,  was  buried 
at  once  under  classical  tradition.     Men's  colleges  for  a 
generation  have  been  differentiating  into  groups  of  scien- 
tific and  professional  schools  —  engineering  with  its  var- 
ied phases,  law,  medicine,  agriculture,  commerce,  journal- 
ism, and  what  not,  each  offering  a  diversified  preparation 
for  a  distinct  vocation.     All  this  time  the  woman's  col- 
lege has  stood  by  its  general  literary  and  scientific  courses 
and  against  vocational  specialization,  until  finally  some 
one  remarks  in  passing  that  "  in  women's  colleges  alone 
is   the   education   of   the  gentleman   held   in   its   proper 
esteem." 

The  college  girl  of  yesterday,  the  one  in  a  hundred  who 
could  go  on  to  college,  found  herself  in  a  blind  alley  — 
literary  culture  with  its  two  outlooks,  the  life  of  the  idle 
gentlewoman  or  the  life  of  the  teacher,  and  then  more  lit- 
erary culture.  The  woman  of  to-day, —  the  girl  of  yes- 
terday,—  if  she  is  broad-minded  and  generous  and  serv- 
iceable, owes  her  high  qualities  to  the  formative  social  in- 


THE  GIRL  OF  TO-MORROW  177 

fluences  that  have  shaped  her  life,   rather  than  to   her 
formal  education. 

But  the  girl  of  to-morrow  —  what  of  her  education? 
You  will  not  find  it  embodied  to-day  in  any  one  school, 
but  here  and  there  you  can  get  partial  glimpses  of  the 
world  to  be.     Come  into  a  certain  elementary  school  in 
Manhattan  where  the  aim  is  preparation  for  serviceable, 
happy  living,  not  for  pedantry.     Note  the  equipment:  a 
large  gymnasium  with  apparatus  suited  to  fixed  exercises, 
with  plenty  of  baths,  with  ample  space  for  folk-dances, 
pageants,    drama  —  in    short,    with    opportunity    for   all 
kinds  of  activity  except  swimming.     There  is  a  library 
and    reading-room    where    little    children    work    during 
school  hours,  learning  that  books  are  tools  to  be  used  by 
all  people  in  every  practical   undertaking.     Each  class- 
room is  equipped,  not  with  fixed  desks  for  parrot  recita- 
tions to  a  parrot  teacher,  but  with  ordinary  work-tables 
and  chairs  suitable  for  working  operations,  for  conver- 
sation, discussion,  and  cooperation.     And  there  are  spe- 
cial rooms,  besides  —  a  cooking-room  and  dining-room, 
where  little  girls  learn  the  wonders  of  bread  doughs  and 
soups ;  a  shop-room,  where  the  rougher,  heavier  construc- 
tive work  is  carried  on ;  a  sewing-room  for  clothing  pro- 
jects; a  club-room,  giving  place   for  social  activities;  a 
garden  space  on  the  roof  in  lieu  of  nature's  space  on  the 
ground. 

Such  is  the  building,  and  within  it  one  finds  life,  not 
barren  schooling.  Can  I  say  better  than  that  each  sub- 
ject is  lived  through,  not  learned  —  that  one  acquires  let- 
ters to  read  a  loved  story,  and  numbers  to  count  and 
control  some  matter  already  of  real  concern ;  that  one 


178         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

studies  history  to  understand  the  puzzle  of  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  and  the  devotion  of  the  veterans  on  Memorial 
Day;  and  geography  to  know  why  there  is  a  valley  here 
where  the  school-house  stands,  and  to  know  where  those 
ships  are  bound  that  pass  on  the  river. 

The  way  of  real  education  is  the  setting  of  the  child's 
mind  to  solve  the  problems  that  life  fixes;  and  this  way 
my  ideal  elementary  school  has  found.  Not  only  in 
method,  but  in  content  of  study,  does  it  reach  out  into 
life's  realities.  The  weakness  of  the  old  school  was  that 
it  worked  in  a  vacuum.  The  strength  of  the  new  school 
is  that  its  subject  matter  of  instruction  is  not  only  literary 
material  and  scientific  results  (as  in  history  and  geog- 
raphy), but  that  all  this  and  everything  in  its  curriculum 
is  taught  as  an  interpretation  of  the  work-a-day  dynamic 
world  in  which  we  live. 

This  new  school  will  give  to  pupils  at  fourteen  years 
of  age  intelligence  regarding  the  various  fields  of  work 
—  professional  practice,  trade,  commerce,  or  housekeep- 
ing —  that  are  openiiTg  up  before  them,  and  will  thus  aid 
in  that  most  fundamental  decision,  the  choice  of  a  voca- 
tion. Industrial  and  vocational  intelligence  (not  specific 
vocational  training,  however)  describes  this  new  aim  of 
the  elementary  school.  Through  this  period  the  training 
of  both  sexes  will  stand  substantially  alike  —  liberalizing, 
cultural,  problem-solving,  informational  as  regards  the 
world  just  ahead. 

What  now  of  the  higher  schools,  where  the  girl  of  to- 
morrow fits  herself  for  the  woman's  work  of  the  day 
after?  Come  into  a  certain  great  new  technical  high 
school  in  an  Ohio  metropolis.  It  has  for  its  principal 


THE  GIRL  OF  TO-MORROW          179 

the  graduate  of  an  engineering  college,  and  it  offers 
courses  especially  for  boys  and  courses  especially  for  girls. 
Here  the  girl  who  must  soon  make  a  livelihood  may  pre- 
pare to  be  a  designer  in  special  fields,  an  illustrator,  a 
house  manager,  a  private  secretary,  a  dressmaker,  a  mil- 
liner, an  infant's  nurse,  or  perhaps  a  skilled  cook;  and 
she  is  trained  in  such  a  way  that  she  keeps  a  more  liberal 
outlook  on  life  than  the  specialized  worker  of  to-day 
dreams  of.  Or  go  to  Chicago,  with  its  promising  two- 
year  vocational  high  school  for  those  who  can  tarry  but 
two  years  after  grammar  school  before  going  to  work. 
Take  notice  of  its  system  of  cooperation  between  school 
and  shop  and  factory,  which  successfully  combines  in- 
struction and  practice. 

This  is  but  an  indication  of  a  mighty  revolution  in  edu- 
cation—  the  girl  shall  be  taught  a  definite  vocation  (out- 
side of  home  work)  as  well  as  the  boy.  The  school  shall 
prepare  young  people  for  practical  life.  The  elementary 
school,  although  it  will  not  teach  vocations,  shall  fit  chil- 
dren to  make  an  intelligent  choice.  The  high  school  shall 
give  them  the  training  they  need  for  their  elected  careers ; 
it  shall  offer  its  courses  of  varied  length  and  purpose  — 
two  years  for  those  who  can  stay  only  so  long,  four  years 
for  those  who  will  remain  longer.  With  vocational  train- 
ing shall  go  some  liberal  culture,  so  that  ultimately  every 
man  shall  have  a  vocation  and  a  free  choice  of  avocations 
at  his  command. 

The  girl  of  to-morrow  who  can  postpone  her  voca- 
tional choice  shall  find  an  opportunity  in  the  high  school 
to  continue  her  liberal  education ;  but  for  her  benefit  there 
shall  be  highly  specialized  schools  that,  when  she  has  fin- 


i8o         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

ished  her  preliminary  training,  will  give  her  scientific 
preparation  for  useful  work.  A  number  of  such  schools 
are  already  in  existence. 

Go  to  the  splendid  institutes  in  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia, 
Rochester,  and  Chicago,  established  by  far-seeing  men  of 
wealth  to  train  high-school  graduates  for  practical  serv- 
ice, and  canvass  the  training  offered  there  to  the  girl  of 
to-morrow.  Preparation  for  household  management, 
woman's  traditional  field,  is  provided  as  a  matter  of 
course  —  but  note  with  what  new  implications  and  ap- 
plications. First,  we  find  hundreds  of  teachers  of  domes- 
tic science  who  may  increase  the  efficiency  of  private 
housekeeping  through  that  socializing  instrument,  the  pub- 
lic school,  to  the  end  that  housework  may  pass  over  into 
a  science,  as  the  decrepit  farming  of  the  last  generation 
has  become  the  agriculture  of  to-day.  What  of  the 
household  when  methods  of  dry-farming,  irrigation,  Bur- 
banking,  modern  chemistry,  bacteriology,  and  mechanics 
shall  be  turned  loose  within  doors  as  well  as  on  the  land? 

But  new  opportunities  in  household  arts  are  also  open- 
ing in  every  direction.  In  the  Rochester  institution  there 
is  a  course  of  training  in  lunchroom  management,  in 
which  young  women  are  instructed  in  related  science,  but 
especially  in  the  practice  of  their  profession  by  daily  re- 
sponsibility in  conducting  a  lunch-room  for  two  hundred 
students.  The  graduates  have  been  quickly  absorbed  in 
Rochester  by  wise  managers  of  banks,  department  stores, 
and  factories ;  one,  salaried  at  twelve  hundred  dollars, 
directs  her  French  chefs  and  feeds  the  three  hundred 
employees  of  a  department  store.  Another  manages  a 
lunch-room  in  a  huge  clothing  factory ;  and  since  her  ad- 


THE  GIRL  OF  TO-MORROW          181 

vent  saloons  across  the  street  have  gone  out  of  business. 
A  similarly  trained  young  woman  took  hold  of  a  lunch- 
room in  St.  Louis  last  fall,  improved  the  service,  and 
turned  a  deficit  into  a  two  hundred  and  ninety  dollar 
surplus  the  first  month.  Schools,  banks,  and  mercantile 
and  commercial  houses  need  the  trained  lunch-room 
manager  and  are  discovering  their  need  and  how  to  fill 
it.  It  is  only  a  step  from  this  to  the  commercial  lunch- 
room. 

The  best  lunch-rooms  in  Boston  —  and  thsy  are  among 
the  largest,  too  —  are  to-day  conducted  by  a  trained 
woman,  and  they  are  cleaner  than  your  own  kitchen. 
Even  the  despised  delicatessen  shop  and  the  commercial 
bakery  may  yet  come  into  the  hands  of  the  trained  woman, 
who  will  give  us  there,  on  a  grand  social  scale,  the  safe- 
guards to  health  that  in  the  past  she  provided  for  the 
private  home. 

Again,  these  institutes  are  fitting  women  to  conduct 
dressmaking  shops  and  millinery  shops  as  skilled  business 
enterprises.  Who  knows  but  that  escape  from  the  rob- 
ber-barons of  fashion  will  come  through  the  more  intelli- 
gent professional  standards  of  those  who  clothe  us?  All 
kinds  of  artistic  achievement  in  design,  in  illustration, 
and  in  creative  work  in  all  the  special  fields  for  which 
deft  fingers  and  the  sensitive  eye  are  essential,  as  well  as 
enterprise  along  commercial  and  industrial  lines,  are  other 
ventures  that  these  practical  institutes  are  providing  for 
the  young  woman  of  to-morrow. 

What  the  young  man  of  to-morrow  does,  the  young 
woman  of  to-morrow  may  also  freely  do  if  she  will  — 
and  so  we  shall  then  find  her  occasionally,  as  we  find 


182         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

her  now,  in  the  advanced  professional  fields  of  engineer- 
ing, law,  medicine,  and  the  ministry.  It  is  well  so,  for 
absolute  freedom  of  action  is  the  only  possible  basis  for 
a  wise  choice  of  vocations.  The  young  women  who  go 
into  higher  professional  training  will,  however,  fit  them- 
selves, as  a  general  thing,  for  the  fields  of  service  that  be- 
long distinctly  to  women. 

But  what  about  a  professional,  specialized  education 
for  women',  on  a  university  level  —  an  education  that 
corresponds  to  the  training  that  young  men  receive  at 
schools  of  technology?  For  answer,  go  to  a  certain  pent- 
in  Manhattan  street  and  enter  the  businesslike  looking 
structure  that  stands  there.  In  this  building  several  hun- 
dred young  women  are  hard  at  work  studying  the  house- 
hold arts.  Make  inquiries  about  them.  One  is  the  di- 
rector of  a  college  dormitory,  come  for  special  instruc- 
tion in  dietetics,  that  the  three  hundred  girls  in  her  charge 
may  enjoy  nutritious  food  while  her  expenditures  still 
keep  within  her  budget  allowance.  Another  wishes  to  be 
a  visiting  dietitian,  instructing  in  tenement  homes  as  to 
the  best  food  for  the  infant,  the  working-man,  and  the 
aged.  There  is  a  group  of  graduate  nurses,  already 
skilled  in  their  profession,  fitting  themselves  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  hospitals  or  for  teaching  positions  in 
nurses'  training  schools.  There  is  a  nurse  who  is 
matriculated  in  "  laundry  management  "  and  who  will 
become  the  director  of  a  hospital  laundry.  Here  are 
young  women  preparing  in  house  decoration  or  interior 
decoration,  others  as  costume  designers  and  illustrators, 
or  as  designers  in  special  industrial  fields  of  unending 
varietv. 


THE  GIRL  OF  TO-MORROW          183 

Others  of  these  young  women  of  to-morrow  have 
entered  for  diplomas  in  household  administration  and  in 
dietetics ;  some  preparing  for  general  institutional  man- 
agement, and  others  for  the  direction  of  the  commissary 
department  of  institutions,  such  as  the  school  and  college 
dormitory,  the  asylum,  the  hospital,  and  the  orphanage  — 
undertakings  that  involve  money,  materials,  and  labor  in 
factory-like  quantities,  and  for  which  compensation  will 
be  given  according  to  the  responsibility  involved.  There 
are  curricula  that  prepare  for  the  less  ambitious  but  no 
less  important  management  of  the  private  home ;  and  for 
a  new  field  of  special  study,  that  of  nursery  management, 
which  promises  aid  in  the  infant-mortality  campaign. 
Other  courses  prepare  for  sanitary  inspection  of  markets, 
tenements,  and  food  supplies,  and  for  various  kinds  of 
service  in  the  municipal  housekeeping  that  now  guards 
the  private  home.  Graduates  of  these  institutes  will 
teach  to  all  people  the  new  science  of  right  living,  and 
will  make  it  the  law  of  the  land. 

Here,  then,  is  a  technical  school  of  collegiate  rank  for 
women,  devoted  to  the  development  upon  a  social  scale 
of  those  household  activities  that  have  long  been  women's 
particular  domain,  and  to  the  professional  training  of 
women  not  only  in  the  conduct  of  the  private  house  but 
also  of  the  institution  and  of  related  industrial  under- 
takings. What  is  being  done  in  this  building  in  Man- 
hattan is  also  under  way  in  other  university  centers  at 
Boston,  Toronto,  Chicago,  and  elsewhere.  In  these  col- 
legiate schools  of  household  science  and  arts,  which  prom- 
ise to  be  a  feature  of  American  universities  as  common 
as  schools  of  engineering,  the  young  woman  of  to-morrow 


184         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

will  find  one  of  her  most  fascinating  fields  of  possible 
study. 

Personal  life  and  the  private  home  will  not  suffer  in 
the  education  of  the  girl  of  to-morrow.  Some  things 
seem  fairly  certain.  Every  young  woman  (social  para- 
sites disregarded)  will  be  taught  some  useful  livelihood 
that  she  will  pursue  at  least  until  marriage,  in  some  cases 
after,  and  that  will  be  insurance  if,  after  marriage,  she 
is  again  thrown  upon  her  own  resources.  Every  young 
woman  will  learn  the  elements  of  household  management 
in  her  public  school  education,  so  that  she  may  intelli- 
gently direct  a  home,  if  it  comes  to  her.  The  industries 
of  the  household  will  be  increasingly  organized  outside 
the  home,  and  she  will  bring  to  their  direction  her  time- 
proved  standards  of  devotion,  rendered  more  effective  by 
scientific  training  and  professional  preparation.  With 
readjustment  will  come  opportunity  for  life  as  well  as 
living,  and  regard  for  liberal  culture  will  accompany 
industrial  efficiency.  This  element  will  be  festered  in 
woman's  education  as  well  as  in  man's,  and  to  the  girl  of 
the  future  will  be  given  an  education  not  only  for  effi- 
cient service  but  for  vigorous  health  and  for  liberal  liv- 
ing. 

BENJAMIN  R.  ANDREWS,  Pn.D. 


SHE  WANTED  TO  BE  A  FARMER 

SHE  was  just  a  pale  little  city-bred  girl.  She  had 
learned  shorthand  in  high  school,  and  then  taken  a 
job  as  a  stenographer.  She  had  been  born  in  a  typical 
city  block,  and  had  lived  the  usual  city  girl's  weakened 
and  anemic  life.  Every  spring  she  had  experienced  an  in- 
tense longing  for  the  country.  Evidently  the  heart  of  her 
country  ancestors  was  not  yet  dead  within  her,  for  some- 
thing cried  out  for  the  green  fields  and  for  physical  self- 
expression.  Every  such  feeling  was  necessarily  stifled  in 
her  city  life,  and  year  after  year  she  grew  steadily  paler 
and  weaker. 

Farms  were  asking  for  laborers.  The  Woman's  Land 
Army  advertised  for  women  to  go  in  labor  units  to  be 
hired  out  to  the  farmers.  The  little  stenographer  saw 
the  advertisement.  Her  heart  gave  a  great  leap.  It  was 
the  call  of  the  wild! 

Her  friends  said,  "  You  can  never  stand  the  work ;  you 
would  not  like  it  if  you  could,  and  —  you  must  be  crazy !  " 
They  offered  other  kindly  advice  and  remarks,  free  of 
charge.  She  would  not  believe  them.  Some  new  will 
had  sprung  afire  in  her.  She  overcame  their  influence, 
and  also  the  almost  insurmountable  objections  of  her  fam- 
ily, and  presented  herself  at  the  office  of  the  Woman's 
Land  Army. 

They  looked  her  over.  "  Sorry,"  they  said,  "  but  you 
could  n't  stand  the  racket." 

185 


i86 


OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 


"  Do  you  mean  I  can't  go  ?  "  she  asked,  growing  pale. 

"  You  never  could  pass  the  physical  examination,"  they 
told  her.  And  they  expressed  this  as  final. 

What  did  she  do?     Like  a  real  woman,  she  wept! 

"  Why  are  you  weeping?  "  they  asked  her.  "  Do  you 
really  want  to  go  as  much  as  all  that?  " 

She  said  she  did. 


UNCLE  SAM'S  LAND  ARMY 

"  In  that  case,'1  they  said,  "  perhaps  your  spirit  would 
make  up  for  a  good  deal  that  your  body  lacks.  We'll  test 
you  out."  They  allowed  her  to  take  the  physical  exam- 
ination. 

She  passed  —  squeaked  by,  somehow  or  other.  After 
all,  there  was  nothing  organic  the  matter  with  her.  It 
was  just  a  little  fresh  air  and  exercise  starvation. 


SHE  WANTED  TO  BE  A  FARMER     187 

She  arrived  in  the  country,  and  was  installed  in  a 
house  with  a  number  of  other  girls,  in  charge  of  a  super- 
visor who  negotiated  with  the  neighboring  farmers  for 
their  services.  A  call  for  help  came  in  from  a  farm, 
and  the  little  stenographer  was  directed  to  a  place  where 
she  was  to  labor  from  eight  in  the  morning  until  five  in 
the  afternoon  at  whatever  the  farmer  gave  her  to  do. 

When  she  presented  herself  to  him  as  his  new  farm- 
hand, he  looked  at  her  aghast. 

The  girl  knew  what  wras  going  on  in  his  mind.  She  put 
up  a  good  fight.  "  Do  not  tell  me  that  I  am  only  a  frail 
woman,"  she  said  to  him.  "  My  pallor,  my  lifeless  body, 
my  slim,  weak  fingers  are  no  indication  of  what  I  can 
do.  It  is  my  spirit  that  will  give  me  strength." 

The  farmer  wriggled,  and  then  he  thought  he  had  a 
way  out.  He  said :  "  Pulling  weeds  is  pretty  tedious 
work." 

'  Tedious?  "  the  little  girl  said  to  him,  with  a  curious 
little  wistful  smile.  "  I  have  done  tedious  work  year 
after  year  in  a  hot  city.  It  was  in  a  close  office,  with  a 
lot  of  other  sickly  people  like  myself.  We  had  only 
electric  lights  to  see  by.  When  spring  came  I  yearned 
for  the  country,  but  I  worked  drearily  on,  sitting  still 
through  the  whole  day  —  weary,  nervous,  irritable,  and 
unhappy." 

"  But  the  pay — "  began  the  farmer. 

'  You  can  not  discourage  me,  sir,"  was  the  quick  re- 
sponse. "  I  have  gone  through  too  much  for  that. 
Every  friend  has  tried  to  do  it.  Every  one  has  told  me 
how  foolish  I  was  to  give  up  the  money  of  a  city  job. 
Yet  my  earnings  were  mostly  spent  for  clothes  to  wear  to 


i88         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

my  office,  to  earn  more  money  for  more  clothes.  For  the 
loss  of  those  pleasures  for  which  I  longed  "  -  she  cast 
her  eye  over  the  green  fields  as  she  said  it  — "  my  pay- 
ment was  —  further  loss  of  my  good  youth  and  health.1' 

"Can  you  pitch  hay?"  was  the  farmers  amused 
query. 

'  Yes,  sir,"  came  the  stout  answer,  "  You  may  not 
understand  this  power  of  spirit.  I  have  become  strong 
from  desperation.  Set  me  to  work." 

"  It 's  drudgery,"  he  warned  her. 

"Drudgery?"  She  gave  him  a  charming  smile,  and 
swept  her  gaze  over  the  beautiful  landscape.  "  Ah,  sir, 
has  your  heart  grown  old?  See  the  thing  with  the  eyes 
of  youth !  Smell  the  sweet  ground ;  see  the  wide  fields 
teeming  with  summer;  gaze  at  the  peaceful  sky.  Why, 
this  is  paradise!  " 

He  set  her  to  work. 

The  following  extracts  from  this  stenographer's  own 
report  give  a  kaleidoscopic  record  of  her  experience,  and 
answer  in  concrete  terms  those  questions  that  have  arisen 
in  connection  with  the  serious  shortage  in  farm  labor: 
What  kind  of  laborers  do  women  make  ?  What  do  farm- 
ers think  of  them?  How  does  the  woman  herself  react 
to  this  new  type  of  employment? 

1  The  other  girls  of  the  labor  unit  helped,"  the  re- 
port says.  '  The  farmer  showed  us  how  to  pull  the 
weeds.  It  was  very  amusing,  sitting  under  the  sky  with 
my  new  comrades,  squatting  on  the  earth,  wearing  over- 
alls that  were  not  hurt  by  the  dirt.  As  we  worked,  I 
learned  the  different  reasons  that  had  brought  us  to- 
gether. One  of  the  girls  had  been  a  dressmaker,  had 


SHE  WANTED  TO  BE  A  FARMER     189 

spent  her  days  fussing-  over  fine  sewing  until  she  became 
ill  and  feared  that  she  was  going  into  consumption.  She 
had  escaped  to  the  farm  to  save  her  life. 

'  To  be  sure,  my  side  was  aching ;  but  there,  I  had  an- 
other side,  and  so  I  changed  over. 

"  The  fat  girl  turned  out  to  be  a  singer.  I  predicted 
that  she  would  lose  a  pound  or  two  in  that  work.  The 
blonde  athlete  was  a  well-to-do  girl  who  had  been  giving 
her  time  to  the  Red  Cross  and  was  now  giving  it  to  the 
land.  Her  name  was  Helen.  We  christened  her  '  Husky 
Helen.'  The  one  with  the  foreign  countenance  was  newly 
graduated  from  college.  Although  she  was  only  twenty- 
one,  she  was  very  learned.  Scientific  phrases  that  I  did 
not  even  understand  came  to  her  command  with  perfect 
simplicity  and  naturalness.  She  made  it  a  nice  principle, 
I  feel  convinced,  plainly  to  expect  no  distinction  on  ac- 
count of  her  superior  mental  plane. 

1  The  farmer  suddenly  discovered  that  the  Learned 
One  was  pulling  up  his  most  valuable  beet-tops,  thinking 
they  were  weeds.  The  only  beets  she  ever  saw  before 
just  grew  in  stores !  Also  that  '  Helen  Husky  '  was  care- 
fully cultivating  worthless  plantain.  What  a  lot  there 
was  to  learn!  How  many  sides  has  wisdom!  I  suspect 
that,  if  we  had  not  taken  the  trouble  to  explain,  the 
farmer  would  not  have  been  able  to  pick  us  out  for  what 
we  were,  or  rather  what  we  had  been.  We  looked 
strangely  alike  in  our  blue  jeans  and  our  enormous  straw 
hats. 

"  Now  both  my  sides  were  aching,  and  I  discovered 
that  it  was  only  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning.  But  I 
braced  up.  I  told  myself  I  had  no  discouragement,  that 


OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

everything  is  hard  at  first,  no  matter  what  you  try.  I 
made  it  a  part  of  the  fun  to  invent  new  positions,  and 
showed  them  to  the  other  girls,  experimenting  and  try- 
ing myself  out  in  all  sorts  of  ways.  I  even  lay  flat  on 
my  stomach. 

"  My,  but  it  was  dirty  work !  You  should  have  seen 
my  hands.  And  my  ankles  were  full  of  dust.  Goodness, 
how  sweaty  I  was,  and  hot,  and  whew,  but  I  was  aching ! 
Here  was  a  test  of  my  pluck.  The  day  moved  at  a  snail's 
pace.  'I  am  equal  to  it,'  I  said.  'Don't  mistake!  I'll 
keep  right  on,  right  on.' 

"  Somebody  discovered  that  there  was  an  old  swim- 
ming-hole over  there.  I  remembered  the  sensation  of 
soft  water  on  a  truly  hot  and  dusty  skin  —  when  was  it? 
-years  ago!  I  would  turn  back  the  hand  of  time,  and 
my  comrades  would  join  me.  We  would  continue  to  tor- 
ture ourselves  with  the  heat  and  the  aching;  we  would 
resign  ourselves  to  the  never-ending  day,  trusting  that 
sometime  it  would  be  over  and  then  we  would  go  and  un- 
bind our  bodies  and  spread  and  splash  in  delicious  cool 
freedom.  We  worked  on,  we  talked,  we  sang,  or  we 
sat  silently  aching.  In  time  it  came  —  five  o'clock.  At 
last!  Oh,  oh,  but  I  could  hardly  rise  —  oh!  Well,  I 
was  on  my  feet.  Then  for  the  swimrning-hole ! 

"  The  next  morning,  when  I  awoke,  I  made  a  discov- 
ery. It  was  that  I  had  been  asleep.  Now,  that  was 
sleep !  I  had  not  tossed,  or  lain  awake,  thinking  through 
long  hours  —  I  had  slept !  I  had  forgotten  —  or  per- 
haps I  had  never  known  —  what  sleep  was.  Nine  hours 
of  true  oblivion!  But  when  I  started  to  move  —  oh,  my 
muscles !  Heavens,  but  I  was  sore  and  lame !  Well, 


SHE  WANTED  TO  BE  A  FARMER     191 

what  did  I  expect?     So  I  just  said  to  myself,  '  Buck  up, 
you  're  a  farmer  now  ;  it 's  part  of  the  game ! ' 

'''  That  day  we  hoed  beans.  The  dressmaker  and  I 
were  set  to  doing  a  patch  together.  At  first  we  were 
very  awkward;  but  the  farmer  showed  us  how  to  strad- 
dle the  rows,  and  we  soon  got  the  hang  of  it.  Right 
away  the  poor  man  got  all  mixed  up  trying  to  remember 
1  Miss  This '  and  '  Miss  That.'  He  finally  asked  us  if 
he  could  n't  just  call  us  '  Bill '  and  '  Jack,'  because  he  was 
more  accustomed  to  that  sort  of  thing.  So  I  was  '  Jack  ' 
and  the  little  dressmaker  was  '  Bill '  ! 

"  We  found  that  it  pleased  the  farmer  when  we  were 
enthusiastic,  and  were  open-minded  and  teachable.  After 
all,  we  were  women,  and  it  was  pleasant  to  make  him 
happy.  He  noticed  a  difference  in  the  spirit  of  his  men 
and  his  women  workers.  I  should  say  that  it  was  the 
difference  between  work  and  play.  For  us  it  was  a  new 
recreation.  The  days  were  rather  long,  but  so  they  were 
at  the  office  —  I  never  forgot  that.  I  could  feel  my  body 
building  out  with  strength.  I  took  a  long  breath  and 
I  said,  '  That 's  oxygen ! ' 

"  Some  of  the  men  laborers  left.  They  found  the 
work  difficult  and  tiresome,  and  so  they  quit.  I  could 
have  told  them  they  would  find  that  most  things  worth 
while  have  their  difficult  and  tiresome  beginnings,  that 
success  is  attained  by  summoning  one's  will  to  go  on 
through  the  difficulties.  How  could  they  win  at  some- 
thing else  if  they  did  not  summon  that,  then  as  well  as 
any  time  ?  For  me,  I  would  stick  it  out ! 

"  I  had  another  new  experience.  The  farmer  drove 
up  with  the  old  hayrick  and  said,  '  Jump  in ! ' 


OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

"  '  Jump  in  ?  '  I  said.  '  But  it  is  all  dirty  in  the  bot- 
tom, and  where  shall  we  sit?' 

"  Then  I  suddenly  remembered  that  I  was  a  farmer, 
and  so  I  jumped  in.  I  found  myself  armed  with  a  pitch- 
fork. I  can  not  describe  my  aversion  to  carrying  it.  It 
seemed  like  such  a  vulgar  tool,  fitted  only  for  the  hands 
of  men. 

"  I  quickly  suspected,  however,  that  my  mind  had 
fallen  into  ruts  and  my  imagination  into  inactivity,  like 
my  muscles,  and  that  I  would  better  make  this  a  test  of 
my  plasticity,  and  so  I  hung  on  to  the  pitchfork.  Who 
said  it  requires  brute  force  to  pitch  hay?  On  the  con- 
trary, I  found  that  it  took  largely  knack  and  skill.  Also 
I  discovered  that  I  possessed  an  innate  finesse  that  I  had 
not  dreamed  was  in  me.  I  handed  up  the  bundles  of  hay 
to  Bill,  who  spread  them  on  the  load.  How  marvelous 
is  a  pitchfork!  Jab,  lift,  release;  jab,  lift,  release  —  a 
clever  game  of  give  and  it  is  taken. 

"  It  was  almost  exciting,  this  display  of  a  hitherto 
unsuspected  ability  in  myself,  and  this  use  of  a  new 
body  that  I  did  not  know  I  possessed.  The  farmer  was 
amazed,  too.  And  also  he  was  pleased  to  speak  of  our 
good  conscience,  and  to  pretend  surprise  because  we  did 
not  loaf  when  his  back  was  turned. 

"  It  was  strange,  with  all  of  this  heavy  exertion,  that 
we  did  not  simply  die  of  fatigue.  Instead,  more  work 
bred  more  strength.  It  was  unbelievable. 

"  And  always  there  was  the  peaceful  view,  birds  call- 
ing in  their  graceful  flights  across  the  sky,  then  the  creep- 
ing twilight  with  its  long  shadows,  and  finally  the  long 
night  of  sleep. 


SHE  WANTED  TO  BE  A  FARMER     193 

"  Another  new  experience.  Men  will  be  men,  it  seems, 
even  if  there  is  prohibition.  One  of  the  men  laborers 
went  off  to  the  village  Saturday,  got  drunk  on  stored- 
away  liquor,  and  failed  to  show  up  Monday  morning. 
Who  could  expect  us  to  be  unhappy  when  the  farmer 
suddenly  discovered  that  we  were  dependable?  On  ac- 
count of  losing  his  man,  the  farmer  was  obliged  to  teach 
me  to  run  a  tractor. 

"So  that  was  a  tractor!  To  any  man  I  suppose  it 
was  a  commonplace,  e very-day  piece  of  machinery.  To 
me  it  was  a  great  novelty  and  curiosity.  How  extraor- 
dinary is  a  tractor!  Some  man  expressed  his  thoughts 
in  terms  of  steel  and  iron,  and  produced  a  thing  that  has 
the  power  to  do  something,  in  this  case  the  work  of  a 
tireless  giant.  Wherein  is  it  different  from  a  literary 
production,  in  which  a  man  fits  together  words  that  make 
you  see  a  picture  and  maybe  laugh  or  cry?  A  tractor 
is  a  species  of  story  or  poem,  only  one  that  is  infinitely 
useful.  It  can  turn  the  earth  into  neat  furrows;  it  can 
harrow  and  cultivate;  it  can  cut  and  bundle;  it  can  scoop 
lung  piles  of  hay  into  a  cart  almost  without  the  aid  of 
Uie  human  hand. 

"  Who  was  the  man,  or  who  the  men,  that  invented  it? 
Mow,  if  he  were  a  poet  of  words,  I  could  have  named 
him.  To  my  admiration  poets  have  always  been  the 
thing;  I  could  have  told  you  the  author  of  the  most 
trivial  poetic  invention.  But  there  I  was  sitting  on  the 
seat  of  a  tractor,  a  harmonious  device  made  by  man  to  re- 
spond to  my  will  like  an  almost  human  thing,  and  I  did 
not  know  whose  mind  had  invented  it.  I  developed  a 
new  respect  for  machinery,  and  for  the  men  who  create 


194         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

it.  I  found  that  literature  has  many  guises  —  as  tractors 
as  well  as  sonnets.  Machinery  's  the  thing,  and  machin- 
ists! My  husband  shall  be  a  machinist,  and  my  son  an 
inventor ! 

"  Great  changes  were  being  wrought  in  our  little  unit 
of  farm  laborers.  The  singer  was  rapidly  losing  weight, 
and  we  noticed  that  her  voice  was  improving.  '  Husky 
Helen  '  was  as  brown  as  a  beechnut.  And  could  this  be 
the  little  dressmaker  of  a  month  ago?  Scotch-Irish  roses 
were  blooming  in  her  fair  cheeks,  her  lips  were  crimson- 
ing, and  her  eyes  were  growing  bright  and  clear.  For 
myself,  I  had  awakened  from  a  half-dream.  I  had  a 
new  sense  of  well-being,  a  peace  of  mind.  I  was  happy, 
like  a  child.  But  ah,  Miss  College  Graduate,  you  indeed 
were  changed!  You  had  come  to  a  new  realization  of  all 
the  knowledge  there  is  that  may  not  be  found  in  books ! 
You  had  associated  with  people  outside  your  college  and 
your  home  set,  and  you  had  found  that  they  were  just  as 
important  under  the  sun.  Best  of  all  was  the  growing 
modesty  of  your  thought  and  decisions.  You  did  not 
toss  off  great  questions  and  tremendous  social  beliefs 
with  such  facility  and  assurance.  Just  a  simple  onion 
will  never  look  the  same  to  you  again ! 

"  We  plowed  and  planted,  we  cultivated  and  harvested. 
We  sprayed  trees,  drove  horses,  ran  tractors.  We  shin- 
gled roofs,  painted  barns.  We  picked  fruit,  sorted  and 
packed  it.  We  cleared  up  brush,  sawed  wood,  mowed 
lawns,  tended  chickens,  milked  cows.  We  cut  the  hay 
with  the  machine,  teddered  it,  raked  and  loaded  it.  We 
pitched  sheaves  of  rye.  We  husked  corn.  We  hunted 
for  borers  in  the  peach-trees.  We  swung  the  scythe 


SHE  WANTED  TO  BE  A  FARMER     195 

with  the  best  of  the  men.     And  we  even  blew  up  stumps 
and  dug  ditches  with  the  use  of  dynamite. 

''  The  raw  wind  began  to  bite  our  fingers  with  cold. 
The  season  passed.  Fall  and  Thanksgiving  were  in  the 
air.  It  was  time  to  return  to  the  city  —  to  say  good-by 
to  brown  trees,  bleak  fields,  to  flights  of  birds  across  a 
lowering  sky,  and  to  the  chill  and  loneliness  of  the. fall 
twilight.  We  donned  our  city  clothes  again." 

Thus  ran  the  record. 

When  the  little  stenographer  returned  to  her  familiar 
city  clock,  every  one  on  the  street  stared.  Strangers  as 
well  as  friends  looked  and  gaped.  They  were  amazed 
at  the  richness  of  her  color,  at  her  strong,  high  chest, 
at  the  brightness  of  her  eyes.  Envy  possessed  the  hearts 
of  those  who  had  been  the  strongest  in  their  disapproval. 
And  they  were  the  very  ones  now  who  went  to  be  farmers 
with  the  little  stenographer  the  next  year! 

HARRIET  MAYO. 


WAGE-EARNING  OCCUPATIONS  CONNECTED 
WITH  THE  HOUSEHOLD  ARTS 

THERE  are  now  open  to  girls  who  must  earn  their 
living  a  large  number  of  interesting  occupations 
that  are  directly  connected  with  their  life  interests. 
These  positions  offer  opportunities  for  the  clever,  pro- 
gressive woman,  for  they  demand  her  best  thought  in  in- 
dustrial, economic,  and  sociological  fields.  The  salaries 
paid  are  good,  and  the  supply  of  workers  does  not  equal 
the  demand.  They  offer  opportunities  to  rise,  for  they 
range  from  that  of  assistant  worker  to  the  highest  pro- 
fessional and  executive  occupations.  They  cover  many 
varied  interests  connected  with  domestic  science,  domes- 
tic art,  home  management,  hospital  economics,  and  home 
nursing,  so  that  it  is  possible  for  any  one  to  choose  the 
situation  best  fitted  to  her  special  capability  and  interest. 
Some  of  these  wage-earning  opportunities  are  in  educa- 
tion, for  the  household  arts  have  taken  their  place  in 
schools  of  all  kinds.  The  old  methods  of  teaching  sew- 
ing and  cookery  have  been  superseded  by  new  ones  that 
require  women  of  culture  who  are  at  the  same  time  ex- 
perts in  their  technical  field.  Such  teachers  must  be  pro- 
fessionally trained,  and  must  see  their  subjects  as  a  part 
of  other  educational  interests  such  as  science,  art  eco- 
nomics, sociology,  and  industry.  They  should  be  en- 
thusiasts in  the  possibility  of  developing  better  home  life 

196 


THE  HOUSEHOLD  ARTS  197 

in  America  through  their  class-work.  They  will  find  op- 
portunity for  developing  the  household  arts  in  schools 
long  organized,  such  as : 

Elementary  schools;  high  schools  (classical,  manual 
training,  technical,  and  practical  arts)  ;  technical  schools 
(elementary  and  advanced)  ;  training  schools  for  nurses; 
normal  schools ;  colleges  and  agricultural  schools :  uni- 
versity schools  of  education. 

A  new  field  for  the  household  arts  is  beginning  in 
trade  education  for  girls.  This  instruction  aims  to  help 
those  girls  who  must  earn  their  living  the  moment  the 
compulsory  school  years  are  over,  and  who  require  a 
short,  highly  specialized  education.  In  such  schools  as 
this  teachers  of  various  kinds  are  needed,  all  of  whom, 
in  addition  to  their  technical  training,  must  know  con- 
ditions of  the  industrial  world  of  to-day. 

This  field  includes: 

Teachers  of  hand  work  in  trade  schools:  sewing,  gar- 
ment and  uniform  making,  lingerie,  dressmaking,  mil- 
linery, lamp-shades,  sample-mounting,  jewelry-case  mak- 
ing, foot-  and  electric-power  sewing-machines,  and  like 
objects  connected  with  women's  work. 

Teachers  of  trade  art:  who  must  know  the  needs  of 
the  various  industries  for  which  they  teach  the  design. 

Teachers  of  trade  academic  work:  who  must  know  the 
history  of  the  industries,  the  vocabulary  and  arithmetic 
required  in  each  trade,  and  also  the  labor,  civic,  and  legal 
problems  connected  with  the  working-girl. 

Teachers  of  lunch-room  cookery :  who  are  fitted  to  run 
a  lunch-room,  and  who  can  also  teach  working-girls  to 
choose  and  cook  the  most  nourishing  food  at  the  least 


ig8         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

cost,  and  to  see  this  subject  as  an  important  factor  in 
their  working  ability. 

The  opening  of  a  few  trade  schools  for  girls  has  dem- 
onstrated the  fact  that  vocational  instruction  can  be  given 
advantageously  to  girls  before  they  leave  the  elementary 
school.  The  sixth,  seventh  and  eighth  grades  in  some 
cities  are  now  beginning  to  offer  elective  studies  to  those 
who  must  earn  their  living  or  who  expect  to  bear  re- 
sponsibilities in  their  homes.  Special  teachers,  who  com- 
bine a  practical  knowledge  of  the  household  arts  subjects 
with  industrial  intelligence,  are  required  to  give  this  work 
adequately. 

Still  another  phase  of  household  arts  instruction  is 
found  in  the  night  classes  of  elementary  and  high  school 
grade  for  the  teaching  of  sewing,  dressmaking,  embroid- 
ery, millinery,  artificial  flower-making,  and  cookery. 

Continuation  and  factory  schools  are  beginning  to  be 
organized,  which  offer  interrelations  between  business 
houses  and  school  life.  The  students  are  wage-earners, 
but  still  continue  studying. 

Salesmanship  schools :  a  new  field  of  teaching  to  train 
girls  to  higher  ability  as  sales-girls  in  department  stores. 

Social  secretaries :  teachers  of  household  arts,  who  are 
also  social  workers,  are  particularly  needed.  They  can 
train  the  sales-girls  in  department  stores,  and  organize 
clubs  and  courses  of  instruction  in  stores  or  in  factory 
towns. 

Teachers  of  cooking  in  all  its  phases. 

Teachers  of  laundry  work. 

Miscellaneous    schools    of    all    kinds    are    demanding 


THE  HOUSEHOLD  ARTS  199 

household  arts  teachers;  schools  for  defectives,  such  as 
blind,  deaf,  and  dumb,  general  and  orthopedic  hospitals, 
reformatories,  asylums,  sanatoriums,  and  settlements. 

These  teaching  positions  are  developing  each  year. 
The  success  of  the  well-trained  teachers  of  household 
arts  is  making  them  factors  in  combining  social  and  in- 
dustrial training  with  the  educational. 

Professional  positions :  instructors  and  professors  in 
colleges,  agricultural  schools,  and  universities ;  directors 
of  technical  and  trade  schools ;  supervisors  of  domestic 
art  and  domestic  science  in  city  school  systems;  and  di-> 
rectors  in  institutions  and  hospitals. 

Many  girls  prefer  business  situations  to  teaching.  If 
they  have  had  some  technical  training  there  are  good  op- 
portunities in  industry,  for  the  untrained  girl  is  not  even 
permitted  to  enter  the  better  positions,  and  rises  but 
slowly  in  those  open  to  her.  The  industrial  and  trade 
fields  offer  work  of  various  grades  in  sewing,  white  work 
and  electric  operating  (including  simple  operating  and 
special  machine  work  such  as :  straw  hat,  long  and  short 
embroidery,  and  bonnaz  machine  embroidery),  dressmak- 
ing, and  millinery. 

Art-work  sketchers  for  dressmaking  and  lingerie 
houses,  designers  and  workers  for  the  perforating-ma- 
chines,  and  designers  on  bonnaz,  costume  designers  and 
fashion  illustrators. 

Heads  of  dressmaking  and  millinery  work-rooms,  and 
foreign  buyers. 

Repairers  of  table  and  house  linen  in  hotels  and  institu- 
tions. 


200         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

Garment  alterers  in  department  stores. 

Special  invalid  and  expert  cooks  for  institutions,  hos- 
pitals, and  hotels. 

Management :  still  other  wage-earning  opportunities  are 
found  in  the  following : 

House  mother;  heads  of  lunch-rooms,  hospitals,  hotels, 
laundries,  and  nurseries;  supervisors  of  hospitals  and  in- 
stitutions; professional  caretakers,  and  housekeepers. 

House  decorators. 

Textile  experts   for  department  stores  and  museums. 

Nursing :  visiting  nurses,  supervising  nurses,  and  teach- 
ing nurses. 

Sanitary  inspectors. 

Field  secretaries  for  Young  Women's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation and  workers  in  philanthropy. 

Craft-workers,  bookbinders,  jewelry-workers,  em- 
broiderers, and  weavers. 

Magazine  writers. 

To  attain  success  in  household  arts  positions,  especially 
in  those  connected  with  teaching,  a  girl  should  have  good 
health  and  an  appreciation  of  its  value.  She  must  stand 
for  wholesome,  healthful  womanhood.  She  must  be 
truly  interested  in  improving  home  life,  and  have  a  per- 
sonality that  will  appeal  to  those  with  whom  she  comes 
in  contact.  She  must  be  absolutely  clean  in  person,  neat 
and  attractive  in  dress,  and  appreciative  of  art  in  simple 
things.  Many  of  the  occupations  mentioned  are  new  and 
require  the  one  organizing  them  to  have  a  pioneer  spirit, 
initiative  to  go  ahead  in  the  face  of  discouragements. 
Courage  and  willingness  to  wait  for  results  are  as  neces- 


THE  HOUSEHOLD  ARTS  201 

sary  as  enthusiasm  and  interest  in  the  work  in  hand.  The 
worker  must  put  her  heart  into  her  work. 

For  industrial  workers  there  are  in  New  York  City 
many  schools  offering  courses,  such  as :  night  schools ;  the 
School  of  Applied  Design ;  special  day  or  night  classes  at 
Pratt  Institute,  Brooklyn ;  Manhattan  Trade  School ;  He- 
brew Technical  School ;  Pascal  Institute ;  Clara  de  Hirsch 
Home ;  Association  Settlement  Workers ;  Young  Wom- 
en's Christian  Association;  Washington  Irving  High 
School;  and  schools  in  connection  with  business  enter- 
prises in  art,  industry,  and  social  service. 

Training  for  still  higher  steps  are  offered  at  Pratt  In- 
stitute, at  the  School  of  Applied  Design,  and  at  Teachers 
College  in  the  School  of  Practical  Arts. 

For  teaching,  social,  and  professional  positions  there 
are  the  New  York  Training  School,  the  New  York  Uni- 
versity, School  of  Pedagogy,  Young  Women's  Christian 
Association  Training  School,  School  of  Philanthropy, 
School  of  Practical  Arts  at  Teachers  College,  and  Pratt 
Institute. 

Outside  of  New  York  there  are  excellent  opportuni- 
ties also  for  obtaining  training  for  teaching  in  the  house- 
hold arts,  at  such  institutions  as :  Drexel  Institute,  Phila- 
delphia; Mechanics  Institute,  Rochester;  Margaret  Mor- 
rison Carnegie  School,  Pittsburgh;  Simmons  College, 
Boston;  Framingham  School,  Massachusetts;  University 
School  of  Education,  Chicago;  and  normal  schools  and 
colleges  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 

For  teaching  and  directing  in  trade  schools,  Simmons 
College,  Boston,  in  connection  with  the  shops  of  the  Edu- 


202         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

cational  a"nd  Industrial  Union  of  the  same  city,  and  Teach- 
ers College,  New  York,  have  opened  regular  courses  of 
instruction. 

For  craft-workers,  instruction  can  be  obtained  at  Pratt 
Institute,  Teachers  College,  and  through  individual  work- 
ers in  the  various  crafts. 

For  magazine  writers,  the  School  of  Practical  Arts  at 
Teachers  College  will  arrange  a  good  course  for  this  pur- 
pose. 

Many  of  these  openings  are  so  new  that  no  regu- 
lar salary  has  as  yet  been  determined. 

Teaching  and  social  service :  The  compensation  for 
teaching  and  social  service  positions  is  not  so  high  as  for 
the  industrial  ones ;  the  return  to  the  worker  is  to  a  great 
extent  in  the  pleasure  she  obtains  from  her  work. 

Teachers  of  Sewing  and  Cooking   $1,500  —  $2,500 

Social  Secretaries    1,300  —  1,800 

Workers  in  Philanthropy   1,000  —  1,200 

Field  Workers  in  Y.  W.  C  A 1,500  —  2,000 

Teaching  Nurses  (often  in  residence)  . .    1,200 —  1,500 

Instructors  in  Colleges  i,5°°  —  2,000 

Professors    1,800  —  4,000 

Supervisors  and  Superintendents  (some- 
times with  residence)    1,750 —  4,000 

Principals  and  Directors  of  Schools  ...    1,800 —  3,500 
Dietitians,  inexperienced  and  residence     600 

Dietitians,  experienced  and  residence..   1,200 —  1,800 
Industrial  and  Miscellaneous  Positions: 

Workers,  per  week    15  —        35 

Forewoman,  per  week 30  upward 

Buyers,  per  year  (some  make  as  much 

as  $7,000)    2,500  —  6,000 

Costume     Designers,     varying     greatly 
with  skill.  .  


THE  HOUSEHOLD  ARTS  203 

House  Decorators   . 1,500  —   3,500 

Textile  Experts,  openings  just  begin- 
ning    1,200  upward 

Sanitary  Inspectors,  openings  just  begin- 
ning    1,200  upward 

Craft-Workers,  vary  greatly  with  skill 

and  public  demand  

Regular  Nurse,  private,  per  week 25.40 

Hospital  Nurse,  with  residence   900  —    3,000 

Visiting  Nurse,  with  residence  ...... .'. .    1,000 —    1,500 

Supervisory  Nurse,  with  residence  ....      900  —    2,500 

Superintendent  of  Hospitals  or  Train- 
ing Schools,  with  residence 1,200 —  3,500 

House  Mother,  with    residence  900 —    1,200 

Head  of  Lunch-Room,  often  with  resi- 
dence    800  —  1,500  upward 

Head  of  Hospital,  with  residence 900 —    1,500 

Head  of  Hotel,  not  yet  determined;  it 
has  touched  $10,000  where  there  was 
great  responsibility. 

Head  of  Laundry,  opening  beginning  . . .      600 —    I,OOO  and  up 

Traveling  Caretaker,  position  is  very 
new  but  will  probably  be  needed  in 
the  future  as  domestic  science  serv- 
ice becomes  more  difficult  to  obtain. 

Magazine  Writer,  depends  greatly  upon 

popularity  of  subject  1,000 —  5,ooo  upward 

MARY  SCHENK  WOOLMAN, 

Professor  of  Household  Arts, 
Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 


SECRETARIAL  WORK 

SECRETARIAL  work  of  the  ideal  type  covers  a  field 
for  which  the  educated  woman  is  well  adapted,  and 
sometimes  appeals  strongly  to  the  college  graduate  who 
is  not  attracted  to  the  profession  of  teaching,  law,  or 
medicine. 

Besides  work  in  general  stenography,  the  positions 
open  to  an  educated  secretary  include  such  ones  as  the 
following :  as  secretary  to  a  college  president,  a  school  or 
college  officer,  or  a  professor;  as  secretary  to  a  profes- 
sional or  literary  man ;  as  secretary  to  a  business  man ; 
and  as  secretary  in  an  institution  not  educational.  In  the 
first  two  kinds  of  positions  the  educated  secretary  is  re- 
quired. In  the  last  two  the  expert  stenographer  is  com- 
petent, although  the  secretary  would  be  more  desirable. 

Information  received  from  one  of  the  Eastern  secre- 
tarial schools,  which  gives  a  general  college  course  to- 
gether with  the  special  secretarial  training,  states  that  the 
salaries  of  its  graduates  for  their  first  year  range  from 
six  hundred  to  one  thousand  dollars.  It  is  quite  safe  to 
say,  I  think,  that  corresponding  positions  in  the  Middle 
West,  where  salaries  are  higher,  will  pay  from  twelve 
hundred  to  two  thousand  dollars  a  year,  while  some  posi- 
tions, such  as  the  secretaryship  to  a  college  president,  will 
pay  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  hundred  dollars  a  year. 

The  general  requirements  for  a  secretary  can  be  de- 
duced from  the  statement  of  a  prominent  publisher  who 

204 


SECRETARIAL  WORK  205 

says :  "  My  secretary  should  be  as  nearly  myself,  in  the 
proper  performance  of  her  office  duties,  as  is  possible  for 
any  person  associated  with  another  in  business."  Her 
special  training  should  thoroughly  cover  shorthand  and 
type-writing  at  least,  and  as  many  more  subjects  of  a 
business  value  as  possible  —  for  example,  business  cor- 
respondence, business  methods  (the  use  of  valuable  eco- 
nomic devices  and  machines  for  efficient  work),  elemen- 
tary law,  accounting,  banking,  administration,  and  cata- 
loguing, both  office  and  library. 

A  general  college  training  is,  of  course,  not  a  neces- 
sity; but  it  is  of  great  value  in  adding  both  to  the  effi- 
ciency and  to  the  recommendation  of  a  secretary.  She 
should  at  least  have  such  knowledge  of  the  English  lan- 
guage and  literature  as  will  insure  her  being  competent 
in  grammar  and  spelling.  Her  college  training  should 
give  her  some  knowledge  of  French,  German,  Italian. 
Latin,  Spanish,  economics,  the  sciences,  and  mathematics. 
All  of  these  subjects  may  be  called  into  use  in  a  secre- 
tarial position.  In  addition  to  her  special  training  and 
the  knowledge  gained  from  a  general  college  course,  a 
secretary  must  gather  much  from  experience  in  a  particu- 
lar position,  especially  in  the  way  of  vocabulary  belong- 
ing to  certain  kinds  of  work,  methods  peculiar  to  individ- 
ual employers,  and  customs  prevailing  in  a  given  locality. 

Many  peculiar  abilities  add  to  the  chances  for  success, 
and  are  virtually  necessary  to  every  secretary :  neatness  in 
appearance  and  in  work,  tact,  good  address,  courtesy, 
punctuality,  interest,  method,  accuracy,  unselfishness,  re- 
spect for  an  employer's  confidences,  and  intelligence  in 
carrying  out  instructions.  While  a  stenographer  may  be 


2o6         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

efficient  and  limit  herself  virtually  to  mechanical  work, 
the  secretary  must  put  into  complete  service  her  mind  as 
well  as  her  hands. 

In  using  the  term  secretary,  I  do  not  mean  stenog- 
rapher as  generally  applied  to  the  writer  of  shorthand 
and  operator  of  the  typewriter.  The  latter  person  is 
often  very  mechanical  in  carrying  out  definite  instructions 
and  seems  incapable  of  assuming  responsibility.  There 
are  so  many  so-called  stenographers,  nowadays,  sent  out 
from  inferior  commercial  schools,  who  can  not  detect 
their  own  errors,  or  even  copy  work  with  accuracy,  that 
the  educated  secretary  is  justly  indignant  when  she  is 
placed  in  the  general  class  of  stenographers. 

JESSICA  LOUISE  MARCLEY, 

Formerly  Director  of  Stenographic  Bureau, 
University  of  North  Dakota. 


VOCATIONAL  ART 

THERE  is  hardly  a  field  at  the  present  time  more 
full  of  opportunities  for  women  than  that  of  art, 
nor  one  in  which  women  can  find  more  satisfactory  re- 
muneration for  the  efforts  expended.  Hardly  a  city  or 
town  in  the  United  States  is  without  its  teacher  of  art, 
drawing,  design,  and  handicraft.  To  become  a  success- 
ful teacher,  however,  requires  definite  training  along  dec- 
orative lines,  with  a  knowledge  of  the  practical  applica- 
tion of  art  and  of  its  relation  to  many  subjects.  Most 
cities  and  towns  require  teachers  with  a  normal  school 
training  in  art  and  with  a  background  of  at  least  a  high- 
school  education.  Up  to  the  present  time  few  college 
women  have  entered  this  field,  for,  in  general,  those  wish- 
ing to  become  teachers  have  entered  the  normal  school 
directly  from  high  school;  but,  with  the  increasing  scope 
of  such  work  and  its  far-reaching  possibilities,  an  acad- 
emic training  gives  a  teacher  greater  efficiency. 

Two  years'  training,  at  least,  is  required  for  such  work. 
This  prepares  the  student  for  the  supervision  of  art  in 
both  public  and  private  schools.  Such  a  course  includes 
one  most  essential  factor,  design ;  for  design  is  a  cre- 
ative force  behind  all  good  work,  and  must  find  expres- 
sion in  every  teacher  who  hopes  to  become  successful  in 
the  field  of  art  as  a  vocation.  Such  subjects  as  design, 
water  color,  charcoal,  black  and  white,  perspective,  na- 
ture study,  child  study,  pedagogy,  psychology,  history  of 

207 


2o8         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

education,  and  other  related  subjects  combine  with  the 
application  of  art  to  the  manual  trades,  such  as  metal, 
pottery,  modeling,  weaving,  basketry,  stenciling,  leather, 
and  other  handicrafts,  to  form  a  basis  for  art  training  as 
related  to  present-day  needs.  A  student  who  has  gradu- 
ated from  such  a  course  is  fitted  to  carry  on  work  not  only 


Photo  by  Brown  Bros. 

A  CLASS  OF  ART  STUDENTS 

in  public  and  private  schools  but  in  various  industries  as 
well. 

The  commercial  field  of  manufacturing,  advertising, 
etc.,  is  constantly  in  need  of  trained  designers  —  special- 
ists who  are  actually  able  to  create  and  execute  designs, 
specialists  who  assume  responsibility  for  art  as  related 
to  the  manufactured  product.  Many  opportunities  are 
open  for  women  who  have  become  proficient  in  this  sub- 


VOCATIONAL  ART  209 

ject.  These  include  such  fields  as  weaving,  interior  dec- 
oration, designing  fabrics,  wall-papers,  jewelry,  metal, 
and  pottery.  One  has  only  to  note  art  as  it  is  being  dis- 
played in  advertising  at  the  present  time  to  become  thor- 
oughly convinced  that  it  is  practical  and  finds  a  demand 
even  among  commercial  men.  Specialization  in  one 
craft  is  being  carried  on  successfully  by  many  women. 
This  requires  some  mastery  of  the  craft  after  general 
training  has  been  acquired. 

The  remuneration  obtained  through  these  various 
channels  is  dependent  upon  the  ability  of  the  individual. 
There  is  no  guaranty  other  than  that  which  one  can  make 
himself  or  herself,  and  which  lies  wholly  in  the  amount  of 
persistence  and  application  possessed  by  the  individual. 
Teachers  who  have  become  specialists  in  art  are  earning 
from  one  hundred  to  five  hundred  dollars  a  month,  with 
an  opportunity  for  study  and  travel  in  the  summer 
months.  This  one  fact  alone  is  worth  consideration.  At 
times  a  commercial  designer  earns  as  much  as  from  five 
to  eight  thousand  dollars  a  year.  This,  however,  applies 
to  expert  designers.  But  the  average  designer  who  ap- 
plies herself  '(or  himself)  can  earn  a  satisfactory  liveli- 
hood and  hope  for  such  advancement  as  is  deserved. 

Many  women  are  earning  satisfactory  incomes  from 
plying  the  crafts  of  jewelry,  pottery,  weaving,  and  lace- 
making,  as  specialized  industries.  These  crafts  are  not 
mere  fads,  but  are  substantial  and  necessary  factors  in 
the  present-day  demand  for  better  things  —  things  that 
combine  design,  craftsmanship,  and  individuality.  One 
woman  sold  in  one  year  twelve  hundred  dollars'  worth 
of  hand-wrought  jewelry  which  she  had  designed  and 


210         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

executed  in  that  period  as  her  work  in  a  specialized  craft, 
aside  from  her  regular  duties.  This  is  one  of  the  many 
illustrations  of  successful  and  individual  craftsmanship 
at  the  present  time.  Such  a  field  of  art  should  not  be 
overlooked  by  those  seeking  vocations.  Many  phases  of 
it  are  specially  adapted  to  women  because  of  their  natural 
aptitude  and  their  inclination  toward  the  finer  perceptions 
of  art. 

There  are  many  fields  of  labor  that  offer,  possibly,  more 
immediate  returns,  but  none  that  furnish  so  many  oppor- 
tunities along  creative  lines;  and  there  is  no  phase  of 
life  so  satisfactory  as  that  which  allows  the  individual 
to  use  his  creative  powers  toward  individual  expression. 

MAURICE  IRWIN  FLAGG, 

Director  of  Handicraft  Guild,  School  of  Design, 

Handicraft,  and  Normal  Art,  Minneapolis; 

Director  State  Art  Society,  Minnesota. 


LIBRARY  WORK 

TRAINED  librarians  are  a  necessity  in  bringing 
about  the  best  use  of  any  collection  of  books  that 
is  to  be  used  by  the  public.  The  general  public  library 
offers  the  largest  field  of  labor,  since  every  large  city  has 
its  tax-supported  institution,  with  a  more  or  less  com- 
pletely developed  system  of  branch  libraries.  Most  large 
towns  and  many  smaller  towns  also  have  public  libraries. 
They  are  no  longer  luxuries,  but  necessities. 

,Next  to  the  demand  for  trained  librarians  made  by 
public  libraries  comes  the  demand  from  school  and  col- 
lege libraries.  High  schools,  normal  schools,  technical 
schools,  and  universities  must  have  libraries  for  labora- 
tories, with  a  corps  of  trained  reference  librarians  to 
make  them  useful.  There  are,  besides,  State  libraries, 
historical  libraries,  libraries  of  learned  societies,  medical 
libraries,  law  libraries,  and  various  specialized  libraries, 
each  requiring  librarians  with  special  training. 

An  attractive  field  for  librarians  lies  in  the  State  li- 
brary commissions  that  have  been  established  in  many 
States  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  town  libraries  and 
promulgating  the  library  idea.  Virtually  no  limit  can  be 
placed  on  the  educational  influence  possible  to  a  well  or- 
ganized State  commission  working  in  cooperation  with 
schools,  women's  clubs,  university  extension  courses, 
farmers'  institutes,  and  State  institutions,  carrying  on  a 
system  of  traveling  libraries,  home  libraries,  foreign-lan- 
guage libraries,  and  developing  permanent  local  libraries. 

211 


212         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

Another  field  of  library  activity  that  promises  to  open 
up  a  wide  opportunity  for  trained  librarians  is  the  special 
technical  library,  established  in  connection  with  commer- 
cial houses  and  manufacturing  plants  for  the  benefit  of 
employees,  who  must  have  the  latest  and  best  book  tools 
with  which  to  keep  abreast  of  improvements. 

The  salaries  of  trained  librarians  are  not  tempting. 
No  one  enters  any  kind  of  educational  work  for  the  sake 
of  financial  reward.  Salaries,  however,  compare  more 
or  less  favorably  with  those  in  the  teaching  profession. 
The  teaching  and  library  professions  have  the  common 
advantage  of  keeping  one  in  touch  with  books  and  in  con- 
tact with  cultured  people.  Library  work,  especially  in  a 
general  library,  has  great  returns  in  that  it  keeps  the 
librarian  alive  to  every  subject  that  attracts  a  many- 
minded  public.  The  librarian  must  through  sheer  neces- 
sity cultivate  catholic  tastes  and  avoid  all  prejudices. 
The  very  nature  of  the  work  gives  a  wide  horizon  and 
demands  an  open  mind.  Moreover,  -library  work  com- 
bines the  attractions  of  educational  work  with  those  of 
social  service.  It  uses  books  not  simply  as  educational 
tools,  but  as  a  medium  for  bringing  about  better  social 
and  moral  conditions.  The  work  has  all  the  satisfac- 
tion that  comes  from  books,  together  with  that  which 
comes  from  service. 

The  person  who  expects  to  make  library  work  a  pro- 
fession should  have  as  a  foundation  a  good  education 
along  general  lines,  especially  in  history,  literature,  and 
languages.  If  possible,  the  regular  academic  course 
should  be  completed  before  attempting  special  training. 
Upon  this  foundation  should  be  built  a  professional  li- 


LIBRARY  WORK  213 

brary  training,  which  is  offered  at  several  library  schools, 
notably  at  the  State  Library,  Albany,  New  York;  Pratt 
Institute,  Brooklyn;  Western  Reserve  University,  Cleve- 
land; Illinois  State  University;  the  University  of  Wiscon- 
sin ;  and  at  several  other  institutions.  This  training  is 
usually  completed  in  one  year,  though  there  is  an  ad- 
vanced course  of  a  second  year.  The  course  covers  bibli- 
ography, book  selection,  reference  work,  cataloguing  and 
classification,  and  the  mechanical  methods  necessary  for 
order  and  accuracy.  Many  libraries  offer  an  apprentice 
course,  consisting  largely  of  practical  training,  which  to 
some  extent  covers  the  necessary  points.  It  does  not, 
however,  compare  with  the  professional  training  school, 
and  is  to  be  chosen  only  in  case  of  necessity. 

Besides  educational  training,  the  person  who  would 
make  a  success  must  have  certain  natural  qualifications. 
She  should  have  a  sense  of  order  and  an  accurate  mind. 
Details  should  not  be  irksome  to  her,  for  library  work  is 
filled  with  details.  She  should  have  a  real  love,  not  only 
for  books,  but  for  people,  which  should  make  it  a  pleas- 
ure to  bring  good  books  and  people  together.  She  should 
be  capable  of  a  strong  community  feeling,  so  that  not  only 
individual  people  but  the  social  body  enlists  her  interests. 
She  should  be  even-tempered,  and  capable  of  endless  pa- 
tience with  all  kinds  of  people  —  children,  foreigners, 
working-men,  old  people,  and  whosoever  seeks  the  ac- 
quaintance of  books.  If  there  is  in  the  library  field  much 
work  with  small  financial  returns,  every  librarian  feels 
the  satisfaction  that  comes  from  doing  something  that 
is  very  much  worth  while. 

GRATIA  A.  COUNTRYMAN, 

Librarian,  Public  Library,  Minneapolis. 


A  NEW  VOCATION  FOR  WOMEN 

A  TINY  cabin,  twelve  by  twelve,  the  walls  of  which 
have  a  continuous  band  of  glass  all  the  way  round, 
perched  on  the  side  of  a  heavily  timbered  Oregon  moun- 
tain, is  the  home,  in  the  fire  season,  of  a  woman  look- 
out. 

Many  new  occupations  were  opened  to  women  because 
of  war  conditions  —  among  them  that  of  forest-fire  look- 
out in  the  national  forests  of  Washington  and  Oregon, 
Oregon's  national  forests  bear  a  stand  of  130,000,000,000 
feet  of  merchantable  timber,  and  Washington's  90,000,- 
000,000  feet,  the  protection  of  which  is  the  most  impor- 
tant duty  of  the  service. 

Up  to  now  in  practically  all  cases  where  women  are 
employed  as  lookouts  they  have  taken  a  companion  with 
them  to  the  mountain-tops.  In  some  cases  this  compan- 
ion has  a  share  in  the  work  and  the  remuneration  of  the 
position ;  in  others  she  has  just  gone  for  company  to  the 
lookout,  for  at  these  points  there  are  few  callers  from 
the  outside.  There  are  the  unfrequent  trips  of  the  dis- 
trict ranger,  the  regular  calls  of  the  packer  who  brings  in 
supplies,  and  the  visit  of  the  occasional  courageous  tour- 
ist. 

Aside  from  the  possibility  of  loneliness  to  certain  tem- 
peraments, there  is  no  undesirable  element  in  this  voca- 
tion. If  she  be  a  lover  of  nature,  she  can  never  be  de- 
pressed by  her  isolation,  for  the  ever-changing  mountains 

2T4 


A  NEW  VOCATION  FOR  WOMEN      215 

and  forests  are  dear  comrades.  Of  course  she  must  be 
constantly  on  the  alert  to  discover  any  smoke  or  fire 
visible  from  her  station,  and  on  the  instant  that  this  is 
seen  she  notes  the  course  by  means  of  the  fire-finder,  an 
instrument  that  gives  both  the  vertical  angles  and  azimuth 
readings.  Sometimes  the  exact  location  is  determined  by 
taking  two  readings  from  the  same  lookout  house;  at 
other  times  the  location  is  known  immediately  because  of 
the  lookout's  knowledge  of  the  country  surrounding  her 
station.  The  location  is  promptly  telephoned  to  the  dis- 
trict ranger,  who  passes  the  word  on  to  the  nearest 
"  smoke-chaser,"  who  goes  to  the  place  and  fights  the 
fire.  Should  the  fire  be  too  large  to  be  handled  by  one 
man,  he  summons  help,  often  by  means  of  the  portable 
telephone  equipment  that  he  carries  with  him.  Whether 
or  not  there  are  any  fires,  the  lookout  calls  up  headquar- 
ters at  stated  intervals,  thus  testing  out  the  telephone  line 
and  notifying  the  district  ranger  that  she  is  at  her  post 
of  duty. 

Because  of  the  success  derived  from  the  lookout  house 
on  Mount  Hood,  other  snow-caps  in  the  Western  district 
are  being  occupied  as  lookout  points,  among  which  are 
Mount  McLmighlin,  an  elevation  of  9,483  feet,  in  the 
Crater  National  Forest.  The  last  mentioned  has  a  look- 
out-house at  an  elevation  of  12,307  feet.  From  these 
high  points  the  lookout  has  discovered  all  of  the  fires 
that  have  occurred  within  a  radius  of  twenty-five  miles, 
and  in  some  instances  fire  has  been  discovered  fifty-five 
miles  distant,  and  so  accurately  located  that  the  ranger 
had  no  difficulty  in  knowing  exactly  where  it  was. 

"CHRISTIAN  SCIENCE  MONITOR." 


DEPARTMENT-STORE  EDUCATION 

TO  the  outsider  the  subject  of  education  in  depart- 
ment stores  must  be  very  vague ;  indeed,  store  edu- 
cators themselves  are  just  coming  to  see  a  path  along 
which  they  may  begin  this  kind  of  teaching.  Because 
of  the  great  variety  in  the  merchandise  and  the  difference 
in  the  education  and  training  of  employees,  the  teacher 
has  need  of  a  broad  general  knowledge.  It  is  not  so 
much  to  say  that  nothing  that  is  included  in  the  term 
"  general  education  "  is  useless  in  this  vast  field.  The 
technical  training  should  be  of  two  sorts:  first,  prepara- 
tion for  the  profession  of  teaching;  second,  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  stores  and  their  management,  and  also  of 
merchandise. 

The  trained  and  experienced  teacher  (preferably  of 
older  students)  who  secures  also  experience  in  selling 
is  best  fitted  to  enter  this  interesting  but  difficult  teaching 
field.  In  addition  to  this,  the  work  calls  for  much  tact 
and  patience,  for  ability  to  meet  all  kinds  of  people,  and 
for  determination  to  persevere  in  spite  of  difficulties  at 
times  almost  overwhelming,  and  yet  inevitable  when  an 
undertaking  so  idealistic  as  teaching  is  introduced  into 
the  alien  soil  of  the  business  world.  Instructors  to-day 
are  still  breaking  new  ground,  and  it  will  take  time  to 
demonstrate  the  value  of  this  sort  of  professional  work 
in  an  institution  established  for  mercantile  pursuits. 

216 


DEPARTMENT-STORE  EDUCATION    217 

The  duties  of  the  instructors  vary  greatly  in  different 
stores.  In  some  places,  especially  in  the  smaller  stores, 
they  are  chiefly  concerned  with  teaching  what  is  known 
as  store  system,  by  which  is  meant  the  making  out  in 
correct  form  of  the  checks,  transfers,  and  other  blanks 
used  in  various  transactions.  In  the  smaller  stores  the 
instructor  also  looks  after  what  is  generally  known  as 
welfare  work.  In  some  of  the  large  stores  instruction  is 
given  in  merchandise  and  in  the  principles  of  retail  sell- 
ing, in  hygiene,  and  in  various  elementary  branches  of 
study.  In  still  other  places  the  educational  department 
exercises  some  employment  and  supervisory  functions. 

The  range  of  salaries  would  probably  be  from  fifteen 
hundred  to  four  thousand  dollars  a  year,  according  to 
the  size  of  the  store  and  the  scope  of  the  work.  As  in 
other  professions,  the  hours  must  be  regulated  largely  by 
the  duties  of  the  office  and  by  the  needs  of  the  day. 
Since  such  a  position  is  of  an  executive  nature,  the  regu- 
lations of  the  store  for  other  employees  of  equal  rank 
would  probably  apply. 

The  chances  for  advancement  are  unlimited ;  for,  as 
one  reaches  the  limit  with  one  house,  she  is  prepared 
to  undertake  larger  work  elsewhere.  The  need  for  teach- 
ing of  this  kind  is  being  more  generally  recognized  each 
year,  but  because  of  the  newness  of  the  idea  there  are 
not  many  trained  workers.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  a 
special  branch  of  teaching,  which,  while  calling  for  much 
more  labor  and  for  indefinitely  greater  initiative  than 
teaching  along  already  established  lines,  yet  offers  far 


218         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

wider  opportunity  for  achievement,  for  larger  remunera- 
tion, and  for  freedom  to  work  along  individual  lines  un- 
hampered by  traditions  and  by  courses  of  study. 

HARRIETT  R.  Fox, 

Educational  Director  Strawbridge  &  Clothier, 

Philadelphia. 


ADVERTISING  AS  A  PROFESSION  FOR 
WOMEN 

AMONG  the  various  business  vocations  now  open  to 
women,  there  are  few  that  repay  so  richly  in  in- 
terest as  the  writing  of  advertisements.  Those  already 
in  this  work  realize  how  much  more  there  is  to  it  than 
mere  writing  —  how  wide  a  field  of  activity  it  opens  up 
and  how  many  sides  of  human  effort  it  touches  in  the 
process  of  bringing  together  the  consumer  and  the  mer- 
chandise he  needs.  It  is  this  many-sidedness  that  proves 
so  fascinating  and  so  rewarding.  Here  it  touches  the 
business  of  buying  and  selling;  there  it  has  to  do  with  the 
graphic  arts  —  photography  and  drawing,  engraving, 
printing,  color  work;  on  yet  another  side  it  demands  a 
mastery  of  effective  writing. 

Something  about  all  of  these  things  the  modern  ad- 
vertiser must  know  —  and  it  must  be  based  upon  a  thor- 
ough acquaintance  with  the  goods  to  be  sold  and  a  sym- 
pathetic understanding  of  the  mental  processes  of  the  per- 
son who  buys.  Acquaintance  with  goods  implies  some 
familiarity  with  the  sources  of  raw  material,  the  details 
of  manufacture,  and  the  way  in  which  manufactured 
products  are  distributed  in  the  world's  markets.  With- 
out a  growing  body  of  knowledge  of  this  sort,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  present  to  the  potential  buyer  the  reasons 
why  he  should  buy.  It  is  acquired  through  daily  asso-. 

219 


220         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

elation  with  manufacturers,  merchants,  and  salespeople. 
These  are  more  likely  to  know  the  interesting  aspects  of 
their  goods  than  they  are  to  have  the  power  of  recogniz- 
ing the  interest  and  using  it  in  writing  to  sell  their 
goods;  this  is  the  advertiser's  province.  Accurate  in- 
formation is  indispensable  —  it  serves  to  paint  an  at- 
tractive picture  to  the  consumer,  and  it  also  acts  as  a 
check  upon  the  unbridled  enthusiasm  of  the  men  who 
make  the  goods  and  will  call  them  almost  anything  super- 
lative in  the  effort  to  sell  them. 

In  this  respect  the  woman  who  takes  up  advertising  is 
a  really  useful  member  of  the  community.  True,  she 
stands  outside  those  professions  that  are  primarily  altru- 
istic, and  she  can  not  look  for  the  rewards  of  altruism; 
but  she  is  not  debarred  from  the  satisfaction  of  being  of 
use  to  her  fellows,  for  the  more  serviceable  she  is  in  help- 
ing them  to  buy  exactly  the  kind  of  merchandise  they  need 
and  can  afford,  the  better  advertiser  she  is,  according  to 
enlightened  modern  standards.  She  is  more  than  guide 
and  philosopher  to  the  consuming  public  —  she  may  be  its 
friend,  too. 

And  if  she  is  to  do  her  part  in  carrying  to  the  consum- 
er's door  the  goods  she  has  learned  to  believe  in,  she 
must  go  one  step  further  —  she  must  appreciate  how  the 
buying  mind  works.  In  the  name  of  the  psychology  of 
advertising  much  nonsense  has  been  uttered ;  but  there  is 
such  a  thing,  and  it  does  play  a  large  part  in  the  mental 
equipment  of  the  advertiser.  It  is  so  closely  allied  to 
what  a  salesman  needs  that  actual  selling  experience  is  in- 
valuable in  preparing  for  advertising. 

Indeed,  there  are  many  roads  by  which  a  woman  may 


ADVERTISING  AS  A  PROFESSION     221 

enter  advertising.  Education  is  needed,  of  course  —  not 
so  much  an  exhaustive  training  in  any  one  line  as  a  wide 
range  of  generally  useful  information,  coupled  with  the 
habit  of  approaching  unfamiliar  subjects  scientifically. 
In  many  kinds  of  advertising  every  day  presents  a  new 
subject;  and,  even  when  one  is  sticking  to  a  small  range 
of  subjects  to  advertise,  the  intelligent,  painstaking,  thor- 
ough method  is  indispensable.  Another  essential  is  that 
"news  instinct"  which  journalistic  training  gives  —  an 
excellent  school,  by  the  wray,  for  the  would-be  advertiser. 
Find  out  what  there  is  that  is  new  and  fresh  and  interest- 
ing in  your  merchandise,  and  then  tell  it  in  the  terse, 
picturesque,  persuasive  language  that  will  make  a  man 
reach  for  his  hat  and  start  out  to  buy  it! 

Women  who  can  do  this  naturally  may  start  into  ad- 
vertising without  any  special  previous  training.  The 
wrork  itself  from  day  to  day  will  be  its  own  training. 
Such  experience,  plus  the  zest  that  springs  from  a  real 
love  of  the  work,  has  created  many  a  good  advertiser. 
Natural  liking  is  far  more  essential  than  any  particular 
"  temperament." 

It  has  been  said  that  newspaper  work  is  a  good  train- 
ing-camp work  for  advertisers.  So  is  \vork  in  a  pub- 
lishing house  of  any  sort.  And  conversely,  women  who 
have  done  advertising  —  especially  advertising  of  the  edi- 
torial sort,  involving  the  planning  and  make-up  of  circu- 
lars and  booklets  —  are  quite  likely  to  graduate  from  that 
into  more  strictly  editorial  work  in  publishing  houses. 
In  some  cases  the  latter  work  pays  better. 

The  salary  within  reach  of  the  beginner  in  advertis- 
ing is  rather  more  nearly  a  "  living  wage  "  than  that 


222         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

offered  to  beginners  in  other  lines  —  teaching,  for  in- 
stance. The  average  young  woman  in  an  advertising 
agency,  a  store,  or  a  manufacturing  house  can  ask  (and 
get)  at  least  twenty-five  dollars  a  week,  if  she  combines 
a  good  mind,  fair  education,  energy,  ability  to  get  along 
with  other  people,  and  something  like  the  advertising 
instinct.  If  her  work  is  satisfactory  and  her  employer 
fair,  she  should  be  paid  forty  dollars  in  a  few  years. 
And  there  are  enough  able  women  getting  up  to  fifty  dol- 
lars a  week  to  suggest  this  as  a  fair  possibility.  Salaries 
beyond  fifty  dollars  are  not  common.  One  must  salt 
generously  all  rumors  to  the  effect  that  this  or  that  woman 
advertiser  "  is  paid  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year."  Save 
in  very  exceptional  cases,  women  are  not  paid  such  sal- 
aries —  for  advertising  or  anything  else.  Do  not  go  into 
advertising  with  the  idea  that  you  will  grow  wealthy  - 
its  rewards  lie  outside  the  pay-roll. 

But  they  are  none  the  less  real  and  satisfying,  as  many 
women  will  testify  who  are  now  in  the  advertising  field. 

ELIZABETH  CONOVER  MOORE, 

Advertising  Staff,  John  Wanamaker, 
Philadelphia. 


THE  SELLING  OF  STOCKS  AND  BONDS 

WTHIN  the  past  few  years  inquiries  for  advice  re- 
garding investments  by  professional  and  business 
women  have  opened  a  vocation  new  to  women  —  the  sell- 
ing of  stocks  and  bonds. 

For  the  woman  who  is  adapted  to  this  work  there  is 
an  unlimited  future  in  the  financial  world,  but  one  must 
have  a  sound  knowledge  of  securities,  as  well  as  of  the 
laws  of  finance,  to  be  able  to  exercise  careful  judgment  in 
order  to  win  success.  We  are  told  that  this  is  the  age  of 
feminism.  There  are  women  physicians,  women  law- 
yers, women  chauffeurs,  women  ranchers,  women  farm- 
ers, so  why  not  women  financiers  ? 

As  in  all  new  fields  of  work,  a  certain  amount  of 
prejudice  has  to  be  overcome.  In  the  selling  of  securi- 
ties, men  have  a  record  at  hand  and  women  have  a  record 
to  make;  but  the  woman  who  has  the  courage  and  pa- 
tience to  grapple  with  opportunity  will  win  out.  Effi- 
ciency nowadays  is  the  open  sesame  in  every  line  of  busi- 
ness. 

A  college  education,  though  not  a  necessity,  is  of  great 
advantage  to  the  woman  who  contemplates  selling  securi- 
ties, but  preliminary  requirements  may  be  covered  by  a 
general  education,  culture,  and  tact;  the  larger  back- 
ground of  that  kind  one  has,  the  better.  Technical  train- 
ing and  experience  can  be  acquired  in  the  statistical  de- 
partment of  a  reliable  banking  house,  where  the  science 

223 


224         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

of  investments  and  economics  can  be  studied  from  every 
point  of  view.  The  goal  is  not  reached  in  a  day,  how- 
ever, for  it  takes  years  thoroughly  to  grasp  the  subject 
along  the  broad  lines  necessary.  Another  problem  to  be 
overcome  is  the  securing  of  interviews  with  prospective 
clients,  and  a  wide  social  acquaintance  is  essential  for 
initial  success. 

The  watchword  of  to-day  is  "  preparedness."  To  the 
business  woman  preparedness  means  not  only  efficiency  in 
office  work,  but  extends  further  to  clothes,  speech,  and 
manners  —  three  important  factors  in  holding  any  posi- 
tion requiring  personal  contact  with  people. 

To  advise  others  as  to  the  investing  of  their  money  is 
a  responsibility  as  well  as  a  great  service.  Many  women 
are  absolutely  lacking  in  business  sense,  and  the  death 
of  a  father,  husband,  or  brother  leaves  them  helpless 
and  a  prey  to  the  unscrupulous.  Here  the  woman  with 
a  financial  education,  who  has  obtained  through  practical 
application  a  broad  knowledge  of  stocks  and  bonds,  is 
well  fitted  for  the  responsible  and  interesting  work  in  ren- 
dering "  first  aid  in  finance  for  women." 

Salaries  are  usually  arranged  on  a  monthly  basis  (the 
minimum  being  rarely  less  than  one  hundred  dollars), 
with  a  commission  on  all  business  consummated,  so  that 
one's  income  varies  according  to  the  amount  of  sales 
made.  Working  hours,  as  a  rule,  are  from  nine-thirty 
to  four-thirty. 

It  is  an  inspiring  thought  to  know  that  many  women 
through  voice,  stage,  or  pen  are  earning  thousands  of 
dollars ;  and,  while  the  salaries  of  the  woman  in  business 
have  not  yet  reached  their  high-water  mark,  in  this  twen- 


SELLING  OF  STOCKS  AND  BONDS     225 

tieth  century  numberless  opportunities  suggest  themselves 
to  those  who  can  render  expert  service  that  training  and 
experience  alone  can  give.  "  Hitch  your  wagon  to  a 
star,"  for  we  know  that  if  we  aim  at  the  very  heights 
we  are  far  more  likely  to  hit  near  the  top  than  if  we  aim 
too  low;  so,  whatever  the  work  is,  one  must  aim  to  be 
the  very  best  there  is  in  that  field. 

CLARA  A.  MONROE, 

Manager  Women's  Department, 

H.  Evan  Taylor,  Inc.. 

Philadelphia. 


Photo  by  Brown  Bros. 


MOSAIC  MAKING 


WOMEN  AND  CRAFTSMANSHIP 

THERE  is  a  wide  and  an  almost  unworked  field  of 
effort  for  women  of  taste  and  ability  in  fine  crafts- 
manship. In  the  application  of  art  to  articles  of  every- 
day use  woman  has  always  been  noticeably  active,  most 
of  the  very  early  art  having  been  applied,  as  we  well 
know,  to  articles  of  women's  household  service.  To-day, 
however,  because  of  the  growth  of  manufacturing  and 
business  conditions  and  the  separation  of  art  from  pro- 
duction, there  is  much  pioneer  work  to  be  done  in  bring- 
ing them  once  more  together ;  and,  as  in  all  pioneer  work, 
courage  and  enterprise  are  needed. 

If  a  young  woman,  therefore,  has  a  keen  sense  of 
beauty  and  a  delight  in  it,  and  at  the  same  time  courage 
and  imagination,  there  is  a  good  place  awaiting  her  in 
the  arts.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  she  is  not  willing  to 
earn  her  way  slowly  and  find  compensation  in  the  work 
itself,  or  prefers  a  comfortable  week-end  salary  assured, 
there  are  lines  in  which  she  may  be  more  sure  of  a  steady 
course.  But,  with  artistic  ability  and  a  determination  to 
succeed,  she  is  needed  in  the  world  of  craftsmanship. 

In  the  past  few  years  the  avenues  in  this  direction  have 
increased  greatly  —  more,  even,  than  opportunities  in 
other  lines.  There  is  a  great  deal  to  be  done,  but  the  way 
has  to  be  made  and  the  opportunity  developed  individ- 
ually. To-day  the  business  and  manufacturing  world,  as 
well  as  the  buying  public,  knows  that  art  is  an  essential 

227 


228         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

of  life.  Manufacturers  and  educators  are  studying  the 
problems  of  art  in  every-day  things,  while  the  craftsman 
is  actually  solving  them  and  bringing  beauty  to  the  peo- 
ple. The  opportunities  for  artistic  work  are  almost  un- 
limited, and  a  young  woman  who  is  adequately  trained 
and  fairly  gifted  may  hope  to  attain  a  fair  recognition  in 
time  and  a  reasonable  livelihood,  and  if  she  is  endowed 
with  unusual  invention  and  ability  she  may  hope  for 
honors  among  artists  and  craftsmen. 

There  are  two  ways  of  attacking  the  problem  of  mak- 
ing a  start,  once  she  has  decided  to  take  up  the  work. 
One  of  these  is  to  secure  employment  with  a  house  pro- 
ducing  artistic  work.  This  means  beginning  at  a  very 
moderate  wage  and  going  slowly,  but  keeping  her  mind 
open  to  learn  everything  that  the  place  can  teach  of  de- 
sign and  the  possibilities  of  her  medium.  Thus  she  be- 
comes prepared  to  take  up  work  later  for  herself,  or  to 
accept  a  more  advanced  position  with  the  firm. 

A  success  in  work  that  is  creative  and  independent  is 
more  easily  accomplished  when  two  work  together  as 
partners,  supplementing  each  other's  natural  gifts.  For 
a  very  real  business  ability  is  necessary  to  the  success 
of  the  craftsman,  as  to  any  other  success.  In  starting  out 
thus,  some  capital  is  needed  or  some  advantage  in  oppor- 
tunity that  counts  for  it. 

In  pottery  several  women  have  notably  made  good. 
Two  partners  hold  summer  classes  and  in  winter  produce 
fine  ware  in  their  city  studio.  Another  produces  and 
teaches  in  a  city  suburb  and  sends  out  work  that  can  com- 
pare with  the  best.  One  woman  started  a  class  of  girls 
of  fourteen  or  so  which  has  developed  into  a  regular  in- 


WOMEN  AND  CRAFTSMANSHIP      229 

dustry  known  all  over  the  country.  In  a  Southern  col- 
lege the  post-graduates  of  the  art  department,  women 
make  pottery  for  sale,  and  this  ware  is  also  well  known. 

In  jewelry  there  are  some  women  doing  distinctive 
work,  who  have  made  a  name  for  themselves  by  means 
of  it.  Bookbinding,  while  it  offers  a  delightful  field, 
can  seldom  assure  an  income  unless  accompanied  by  teach- 
ing. This  is  true  of  some  others  of  the  crafts  at  present, 
and  teaching  is  resorted  to  in  most  cases  while  the  worker 
is  getting  her  hold  on  the  public.  When  this  is  accom- 
plished, sometimes  helpers  are  taken  on,  so  that  a  larger 
output  is  possible  and  a  business  is  built  up.  The  best 
work  is  done,  as  a  rule,  where  the  work-shop  is  kept  fairly 
small,  since  in  this  way  it  is  under  the  direct  control  of 
the  craftsman  who  is  responsible  for  the  output.  All  art- 
producing  firms  (Rookwood,  Herter,  the  Tiffany  Glass 
Company,  etc.)  employ  women  largely. 

As  the  public  grows  more  appreciative  —  and  this  ap- 
preciation is  daily  advancing —  the  manufacturer  and  the 
shopkeeper  will  more  and  more  appreciate  the  artistic 
worker.  'These  know  to-day  that  art  is  necessary  in  the 
production  of  wares  and  in  setting  them  out,  and  they 
wish  to  find  the  person  who  can  do  these  things  for  them. 
The  artist,  on  the  other  hand,  must  be  ready  to  learn 
and  accept  the  necessary  conditions  of  trade  and  be  will- 
ing to  make  the  work  practical.  These  two  need  each 
other,  and  they  must  throw  aside  the  distrust  that  each 
has  had  for  the  other  —  and  both,  too  often,  of  the 
public.  The  public  generally  prefers  the  beautiful  if  it 
can  get  it. 

In  textiles  there  has  been  less  definite  success  —  perhaps 


230         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

because  the  outfit  is  more  expensive,  or  because  there  are 
fewer  organized  industries  to  which  one  may  profitably 
gain  admission  for  study.  For  those  who  have  the 
means  and  the  enterprise  to  equip  a  plant,  however,  we 
believe  there  is  a  chance  here,  too,  for  a  notable  success. 

The  artist  is  needed  to-day  in  all  lines  of  endeavor,  and 
the  need  is  becoming  more  and  more  a  conscious  one. 
But  success  depends  upon  the  character  and  courage  of 
the  craftsman  as  much  as  upon  personal  gifts  of  taste; 
for  there  is  no  marked  or  beaten  path  for  the  beginner 
to  follow.  It  is  yet  to  be  made.  For  one  desiring  to 
start  in  this  work,  the  most  important  thing  of  all  is  to 
know  enough  of  her  tastes  and  abilities  to  choose  definitely 
her  line  of  work.  When  this  is  decided  upon,  the  meth- 
ods of  securing  a  place  for  her  gifts  can  be  considered. 

In  all  good  craftsmanship  there  must  be  the  ability  to 
draw  well,  and  a  feeling  for  the  qualities  of  the  mate- 
rial in  which  she  is  to  work.  After  a  course  at  an  art 
school  or  under  a  competent  teacher,  she  may  best  become 
the  assistant  of  some  one  or  enter  some  firm  where  the 
practical  lessons  of  the  craft  may  be  learned.  Up  to  this 
time  pottery  and  metal  work  have  seemed  to  offer  the 
best  rewards  to  the  craftsman  as  regards  steady  advance- 
ment and  income.  A  fair  field  almost  untouched  is  that 
of  wood-carving.  Almost  any  craft  to-day  offers  an  op- 
portunity, if  one  can  develop  it;  but  many  have  yet  to  be 
developed.  The  most  essential  thing  is  to  know  your  gift 
and  then  prepare  yourself  to  exercise  it.  When  an  artist 
craftsman  is  really  prepared  for  work,  there  will  be  found 
openings  in  plenty  for  her  services  or  for  her  creative 
ability, 

MIRA  BURR  ESON-KOHLER, 


THE  MANUFACTURING  CLERK  IN  A 
PUBLISHING  HOUSE 

THE  position  of  manufacturing  clerk  in  a  book-pub- 
lishing house  is  one  that  only  in  recent  years  has 
been  open  to  women;  and  even  to-day,  except  in  the 
smaller  houses,  the  woman  usually  acts  as  subordinate 
or  assistant  to  the  head  of  the  department.  There  is  no 
reason,  however,  why  the  woman  should  not  in  time  as- 
sume the  headship,  provided,  of  course,  that  she  pos- 
sesses the  power  to  control  others. 

The  manufacturing  clerk  receives  from  the  editorial 
department  the  story,  essay,  or  poem  in  manuscript  form, 
and  it  is  her  duty  to  produce  from  it  the  finished  book, 
neatly  printed,  attractively  bound,  and  suitably  illustrated. 
She  must  arrange  for  and  superintend  all  the  various 
processes  of  book  manufacture,  from  the  selection  of  type 
for  the  compositor  at  the  start  to  the  final  placing  of  the 
jacket  upon  the  completed  volume.  Here  is  a  wide  field 
for  the  exercise  of  a  woman's  intuition  and  imagination, 
a  field  for  creative  work  of  a  most  satisfying  character. 

What  requirements  are  necessary  for  entering  this  oc- 
cupation? First,  a  capacity  for  never-ending  detail;  sec- 
ond, a  fondness  for  mechanical  processes ;  third,  an  appre- 
ciation of  color  values  and  harmonies ;  and,  fourth,  a  cer- 
tain commercial  instinct  that  will  enable  one  to  bear  in 

231 


232         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

mind  always  the  cost  of  production  as  well  as  the  artis- 
tic result. 

Fortunately,  the  first  requirement  is  found  more  fre- 
quently in  women  than  in  men ;  but  it  is,  I  believe,  a  nat- 
ural endowment  and  can  not  be  developed  where  it  is  not 
native.  Without  the  second  requirement  it  will  be  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  gain  a  proper  working  knowledge  of 
composition,  electrotyping,  printing,  binding,  photo-en- 
graving, and  other  processes  that  enter  into  book  manu- 
facture. This  fondness  may  be  acquired  through  a  more 
or  less  intimate  contact  with  these  various  processes  or 
by  visits  to  the  plants,  where  a  study  of  the  mechanics 
involved  may  be  made  at  first  hand.  The  third  essen- 
tial comes  into  play  in  securing  artistic  effects  in  print- 
ing, also  in  making  attractive  combinations  for  book 
covers,  wrappers,  and  illustrations.  Perhaps  nothing  in 
connection  with  the  work  is  more  fascinating  than  to 
have  a  color  scheme  in  mind  from  the  beginning  and 
satisfactorily  carry  it  out  as  the  book  develops.  A  short 
course  at  some  industrial  art  school  would  be  of  great 
benefit  here,  though,  where  this  can  not  be  had,  a  working 
knowledge  of  the  subject  may  be  gained  through  home 
study.  The  fourth  essential  requires  no  explanation.  It 
is  a  characteristic  that  may  easily  be  acquired. 

A  few  months  spent  in  a  printing  or  binding  establish- 
ment would  be  excellent  preliminary  experience  for  one 
looking  to  this  position.  Where  this  can  not  be  had,  a 
tour  of  inspection  through  a  first-class  plant  of  each  kind, 
as  well  as  through  an  electrotyping  and  photo-engraving 
plant,  is  absolutely  essential.  These  visits  would  prove 


THE  MANUFACTURING  CLERK       233 

most  profitable  to  the  novice  after  a  short  connection 
with  some  small  book-publishing  house  had  acquainted 
her  with  the  general  plan  of  book  manufacture.  Indeed, 
the  small  publishing  house  is  much  the  best  place  to  be- 
gin, since  here  the  organization  is  not  so  highly  systema- 
tized as  in  the  larger  establishments,  so  that  a  better  op- 
portunity is  offered  for  learning  the  process.  If  the 
house  has  its  own  manufacturing  plant,  visits  may  be 
paid  to  its  different  departments. 

The  most  serious  disadvantages  in  this  occupation  are 
the  frequent  disappointments  and  the  trying  detail  work. 
So  many  are  the  causes  of  disappointment  that  it  is  the 
exception  to  produce  a  book  without  arousing  this  feel- 
ing; while,  as  to  the  crowding  of  minutiae  one  upon  an- 
other, there  is  probably  no  other  line  of  endeavor  where 
this  feature  is  more  pronounced.  But  there  are  many 
compensations,  and  those  who  have  undertaken  this  work 
have  eventually  grown  really  fond  of  it,  until  in  some 
instances  they  would  not  relinquish  it  for  more  lucrative 
employment.  This  fascination  can  be  understood  when 
one  considers  the  wide  interests  involved. 

The  remuneration  for  this  work  varies  so  greatly  that 
it  would  be  unwise  to  mention  figures,  but  there  is  usually 
,'i  good  chance  for  advancement.  A  young  woman  hold- 
ing a  subordinate  clerkship  at  a  few  dollars  a  week  may 
eventually,  if  competent,  be  promoted  to  manager  of  the 
department  at  a  very  good  annual  salary.  Much  de- 
pends on  individual  capacity. 

At  the  present  moment  there  are  comparatively  few 
such  positions  open  to  women,  but  why  should  she  not  so 


234         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

well  fill  these  few  that  other  and  better  ones  will  open  up 
to  her,  thus  broadening  and  enriching  this  field  of  essen- 
tially womanly  activity? 

LAURA  WILSON, 

George  W.  Jacobs  &  Co., 
Philadelphia. 


A  WOMAN  PRODUCER  OF  PLAYS 

STAGE  decoration,  that  is,  the  designing  of  scenery 
for  plays,  and  also  the  production  of  plays,  makes  up 
a  most  interesting  profession  for  a  woman  to  follow,  ac- 
cording to  Mrs.  Emillie  Hapgood,  who  has  recently  taken 
up  that  line  of  work  in  New  York  and  is  enjoying  it  tre- 
mendously. Mrs.  Hapgood  explained  that  she  could  see 
no  reason  why  the  designing  of  stage  settings  or  the  pro- 
ducing of  plays  should  be  called  either  man's  or  woman's; 
in  her  opinion,  it  was  the  work  of  those  who  could  do  it 
best,  and  that  means,  of  course,  artists. 

Room  decoration  and  stage  decoration  are  two  en- 
tirely different  things.  One  may  decorate  a  room  artis- 
tically, and  leave  it  to  the  people  who  live  in  it  to  create 
the  atmosphere;  but  with  the  stage  the  decorator  must 
create  the  atmosphere  of  the  play  to  be  produced  upon 
it.  If  the  one  who  makes  the  models  for  the  settings  of 
the  play  can  get  underneath  that  play,  so  to  speak,  and 
feel  deeply  enough  its  message,  can  really  understand  it, 
then  he  can  make  models  for  scenery  and  settings  that 
will  help  interpret  that  play  correctly  to  the  public.  Or 
he  may  get  on  top  of  the  play,  so  to  speak,  and  merely 
dress  it  up  from  the  outside,  as  most  plays  are  done,  and 
make  an  attractive  set  of  scenery,  but  one  that  is  just 
scenery  and  nothing  else,  not  a  factor  in  the  production 
of  the  play,  according  to  the  artist-producer.  And  that 
is  why,  as  she  puts  it,  it  is  not  wise  to  turn  over  the  most 

235 


236         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

precious  plays  that  are  written  to  any  one  lacking  in  sin- 
cerity, for  such  a  one  would  think  only  of  the  artistic 
possibilities  of  the  settings. 

"  It  is  a  great  mistake,"  says  Mrs.  Hapgood,  "  to  put 
anything  on  the  stage,  by  way  of  scenery  and  settings, 
that  does  not  bring  out  the  meaning  of  the  play.  There 
is  a  loophole  for  the  author  whose  books  are  badly  illus- 
trated with  pictures  that  have  no  reference  to  the  text, 
except  perhaps  to  contradict  it,  for  he  can  convey  his  own 
ideas  and  descriptions  by  his  written  word ;  but  there  is  no 
escape  for  the  playwright  who  is  obliged  to  get  his  effect 
through  the  work  of  the  designers  of  scenery  as  well  as 
through  the  words  of  the  actors.  That  is  why  the  art  of 
stage-decorating  is  such  an  important  one,  although,  of 
course,  not  nearly  so  important  as  the  acting  itself,  for 
the  words  carry  the  meaning  of  the  play.  The  setting 
is  the  way  the  play  reaches  the  eye,  as  the  words  of  the 
actor  reach  the  ear.  We  must  have  nothing  but  artists 
behind  the  curtain,  each  in  his  own  line. 

"  My  work  came  rather  suddenly.  I  felt  such  an  in- 
terest in  the  stage  that  I  decided  that  I  wanted  to  try  my 
hand  at  what  I  believed  to  be  the  proper  kind  of  stage 
decoration,  and  from  that  I  have  become  interested  in 
producing  plays,''  said  Mrs.  Hapgood.  She  intimated 
that  it  is  impossible  to  do  both  at  once,  as  it  takes  at  least 
three  weeks  of  standing  over  the  scene-painters  to  keep 
the  atmosphere  that  one  works  so  hard  to  get  into  the 
model  when  a  thing  is  so  enormously  enlarged.  Nobody 
should  attempt  to  do  this  work  on  the  stage  who  can  not 
do  every  inch  of  it  himself. 

The  making  of  models  means  a  little  bit  of  cutting,  a 


A  WOMAN  PRODUCER  OF  PLAYS    237 

little  bit  of  gluing,  a  little  bit  of  painting,  the  use  of  a 
great  deal  of  tissue  paper,  gauze  of  various  colors,  ar- 
tistic ability,  some  knowledge  of  architecture  and  decora- 
tion, and  dramatic  sense  —  one  must  express  so  much  by 
proportions.  These  models  must  be  made  on  an  abso- 
lutely exact  scale,  too,  and  one  must  know  the  exact  size 
of  the  stage,  its  length  and  depth,  before  beginning.  It 
surely  is  interesting  work,  making  the  tiny  furniture,  ar- 
ranging the  pieces,  and  putting  on  the  wall  decorations. 

Mrs.  Hapgood  has  a  number  of  attractive  models  that 
she  has  made.  One  is  a  forest,  a  lovely  green  wood  that 
makes  one  think  of  Sherwood  or  the  Forest  of  Arden. 
Another  is  a  Venetian  scene,  a  formal  Italian  garden  with 
the  misty  outline  of  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  della 
Salute  in  the  distance. 

An  interior  shows  an  old-fashioned  English  drawing- 
room.  Mrs.  Hapgood  says  that  this  is  the  home  of  a 
dear,  old-fashioned  duke  living  in  the  country.  In  order 
to  convey  the  idea  in  his  surroundings,  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, the  affection  that  his  family  and  people  feel  for 
him,  she  uses  Victorian  furniture. 

"  In  planning  stage  decorations,"  said  Mrs.  Hapgood, 
"  one  must  remember  that  the  actors  are  to  be  seen  first. 
Always  the  furniture  is  to  be  subordinated  to  them,  to 
what  they  have  to  say.  For  instance,  if  an  actress  wears 
a  pale  pink  gown,  and  just  behind  her  is  a  deep  rose-col- 
ored sofa,  that  brilliant  color  will  catch  the  attention  of 
the  audience  first,  and  what  the  actress  is  saying  may  be 
missed.  The  furniture  must  not  be  allowed  to  soak  up 
all  the  color;  the  decorations  should  always  bring  the 
actors  into  relief." 


238         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

This  artist  is  very  enthusiastic  about  the  way  women 
are  finding  their  way  into  all  sorts  of  new  occupations, 
new  fields  of  work  and  usefulness.  She  considers  that 
women  are  far  more  interesting  than  in  earlier  days,  now 
that  they  have  so  many  more  interests  of  their  own. 

"  CHRISTIAN  SCIENCE  MONITOR."' 


THE  WOMAN  PHYSICIAN  AND  HER 
UNPARALLELED  OPPORTUNITY 

SEVENTY  years  ago  there  was  established  in  Phila- 
delphia, the  cradle  of  American  liberty,  the  first 
college  in  the  world  for  the  medical  education  of  women. 
It  was  founded  by  a  group  of  men,  members  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends,  who  recognized  that  women  were  spe- 
cially fitted  for  this  profession  of  service  and  would  con- 
tribute notably  to  the  welfare  of  the  community  if  op- 
portunity was  offered  to  them. 

The  early  graduates  from  this  historic  institution,  now 
the  Woman's  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania,  found  the 
medical  career  not  easy  sailing.  They  were  confronted 
by  prejudice  at  every  hand.  Pharmacists  refused  to  com- 
pound prescriptions  for  them,  hospitals  to  receive  their 
patients. 

Yet  slowly  and  surely  these  pioneers  gained  recogni- 
tion and  patients,  and  demonstrated  not  only  their  sym- 
pathetic understanding  of  human  ills,  but  their  scientific 
ability  to  diagnose  and  treat  those  who  consulted  them. 

To-day  this  struggle  with  prejudice  is  a  thing  of  the 
past  and  the  woman  physician  has  her  assured  place. 
The  problem  to-day  in  the  national  movement  for  human 
welfare  is  rather  to  find  enough  women  physicians  ready 
to  seize  the  manifold  opportunities  presenting  themselves 
for  acceptance. 

239 


240         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

Public  opinion  no  longer  sees  the  woman  doctor  as  a 
rival  to  the  man  in  this  profession,  but  instead  recognizes 
her  special  skill  and  aptitude  for  certain  medical  special- 
ties to  which  she  has  shown  herself  by  temperament  and 
personality  peculiarly  fitted.  So  varied  are  the  opportun- 
ities offered  her  that  no  college  student  looking  forward 


DR.  ELIZABETH  BLACKWELL 

The  first  woman  in  the  United  States  to  receive  a  medical 
diploma 

to  medical  study  need  hesitate  to  assure  herself  of  con- 
genial work  in  her  chosen  career. 

The  practice  of  medicine,  the  caring  for  the  sick,  has 
always  made  its  special  appeal  to  certain  individuals.  If 
one  loves  people,  and  longs  to  help  those  who  are  ill  and 


THE  WOMAN  PHYSICIAN  241 

suffering,  and  enjoys  the  glorious  satisfaction  of  restor- 
ing them  to  health  and  happiness,  here  is  a  life-work  offer- 
ing the  fullest  satisfaction.  And  so  much  of  the  illness 
of  the  world  is  related  to  causes  clearly  removable  and 
preventable  that  the  family  physician,  winning  the  con- 
fidence of  the  mother  in  the  home,  wields  a  powerful  in- 
fluence for  prevention  of  disease  by  her  sympathetic  un- 
derstanding of  these  things  and  her  willingness  to  teach 
as  she  gives  her  professional  advice. 

Opportunities  offer  also  in  lines  of  special  practice  in 
diseases  of  women  and  children,  and  in  eye,  ear,  nose,  and 
throat  work;  and  if  the  strain  and  uncertainty  of  house- 
to-house  visiting  is  distasteful,  institutional  service  as  a 
salaried  resident  physican  can  be  obtained  in  many  lines. 

To  the  temperament  less  interested  in  people  and  the 
personal  contacts,  laboratory  medicine  makes  its  appeal. 
City  and  State  laboratories,  the  clinical  laboratories  of 
hospitals  and  of  the  great  research  institutes,  are  con- 
stantly looking  for  qualified  women  who  are  recognized 
as  possessing  an  unusual  gift  for  accurate,  painstaking 
detail  work.  Many  an  important  discovery  in  bacteri- 
ology or  chemistry  recalls  the  name  of  a  woman  whose 
patience  at  her  laboratory  desk  brought  its  reward  in  a 
contribution  to  human  welfare. 

The  war  multiplied  greatly  the  demand  for  medical 
women  in  the  fields  of  work  mentioned.  Hospitals  that 
were  forced  by  the  shortage  of  medical  men  to  receive 
women  for  the  first  time  as  resident  physicians  are  not 
now  closing  their  doors.  Communities  are  asking  for 
women  physicians  to  meet  special  local  needs,  and  labora- 


242         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

tories  are  unable  to  secure  a  sufficient  number  of  pro- 
fessional workers. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  effect  of  the  war  on  the  op- 
portunities for  medical  women  appears  in  the  great  na- 
tional movement  for  health  education. 

There  is  a  nation-wide  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the 
American  draft  army  revealed  a  shocking  proportion  of 
young  men  physically  unfit  for  military  service.  The  dis- 
abilities exhibited  were  in  large  measure  due  to  prevent- 
able causes,  and  indicate  the  fundamental  need  of  health 
education. 

The  United  States  Public  Health  Service  is  urging  a 
plan  for  nation-wide  conservation  of  health,  and  calling 
on  all  health  agencies  to  cooperate  in  a  carefully  prepared 
program. 

Women  must  play  an  important  part  in  making  this 
plan  effective,  and  they  should  prepare  themselves  by  spe- 
cial training  as  doctors  of  medicine,  doctors  of  health,  as 
industrial  health  officers  and  health  educators,  and  as 
public  health  nurses. 

The  woman  is  temperamentally  qualified  and  her  in- 
stinct leads  her  to  deal  with  the  individual  in  matters  of 
health,  as  contrasted  with  man's  impulse  to  deal  with  the 
mass.  The  man  safeguards  through  sanitary  engineer- 
ing, water-works,  sewage  disposal,  and  meat  and  milk  in- 
spection. The  woman  makes  practical  application  of  the 
laws  of  health  in  the  daily  life  of  women  and  children  in 
the  opportunities  offered  in : 

Pre-natal  and  post-natal  clinics ; 

Well  babies'  clinics  and  nutrition  classes ; 


THE  WOMAN  PHYSICIAN  243 

Health  centers; 

as  health  officers  in  industrial  plants; 

as  professors  and  teachers  of  physiology  and  hygiene 

in  colleges,  normal  schools,  and  high  schools ; 
as  physical  directors  in  girls'  colleges  and  schools ; 
as  lecturers  to  women's  organizations  on  all  subjects 

pertaining  to  health. 

•  The  preparation  that  will  qualify  for  this  work  in- 
cludes fundamental  training  in  the  medical  sciences  lead- 
ing to  the  degree  of  doctor  of  medicine,  plus  fundamental 
sociology  as  it  relates  to  health;  vital  statistics  and  their 
interpretation ;  heredity  and  eugenics ;  modern  psychol- 
ogy; preventable  diseases;  personal,  social,  and  industrial 
hygiene ;  and  intensive  clinical  and  lecture  work  in  "  so- 
cial preventive  pediatrics."  In  addition,  women  so 
trained  should  be  instructed  in  public  speaking  and  peda- 
gogy, in  order  that  they  may  be  able  to  transmit  their 
knowledge  acceptably  to  others. 

The  opportunities  in  medical  foreign  mission  service 
should  not  be  overlooked.  The  appeal  of  the  women  and 
children  in  the  Oriental  countries  is  constantly  before  the 
mission  boards  of  American  churches.  Hospitals  are 
closed  and  dispensary  work  curtailed  for  lack  of  doc- 
tors. 

The  number  of  physicians  graduating  now  in  the 
United  States  is  not  adequate  to  meet  our  own  national 
needs  and  the  call  from  Macedonia  goes  unheeded. 

The  requirements  for  entrance  to  a  medical  school  of 
high  standing  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 


244         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

1.  A  minimum  two  years  of  college  preparation,  cover- 
ing six  college  units  of  work  in  chemistry,  inorganic  and 
organic ;  four  college  units  in  biology,  including  zoology 
and  botany;  four  college  units  in  physics;  and  two  years 
of  language  other  than  English,  one  of  which  must  be 
French  or  German. 

These  college  years  must  include  a  total  of  sixty 
semester  hours  of  work,  the  non-science  subjects  compris- 
ing English,  mathematics,  history,  etc.,  according  to  the 
requirements  of  the  individual  college. 

2.  A  medical  course  covering  four  years,  of  thirty-two 
weeks,  of  thirty  to  thirty-five  hours  of  scheduled  work  a 
week.     This  must  be  followed  by  one  year  of  hospital 
service  as  interne  if  it  is  desired  to  practise  in  certain 
States. 

Tuition  fees  vary  from  a  nominal  sum  in  State  uni- 
versities to  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  in  a  number  of 
the  larger  co-educational  schools.  The  average  fee  is  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars. 

Medical  schools  are  classified  by  the  American  Medical 
Association  according  to  a  rating  determined  by  the  ex- 
cellence of  the  courses  offered,  the  completeness  of  the 
equipment,  and  the  high  standing  of  the  faculty.  Only 
schools  listed  in  Class  A  should  be  considered,  as  many 
opportunities  for  future  work  make  graduation  from  such 
a  school  a  prerequisite.1 

For  the  health  educator  it  is  probable  that  a  special 
course  will  be  developed,  including  as  a  prerequisite  two 

*  A  useful  pamphlet  entitled  "  Making  a  Right  Start "  may  be  obtained  by 
application  to  the  American  Medical  Association,  535  Dearborn  Avenue,  Chicago. 
Here  will  be  found  full  details  regarding  pre-medical  requirements  and  the  standing 
of  each  of  the  medical  schools  in  the  United  States. 


THE  WOMAN  PHYSICIAN  245 

or  three  years  of  academic  college  work,  followed  by  two 
years  of  training  in  the  fundamental  medical  sciences, 
with  special  instruction  in  the  social  applications  of  pre- 
ventive medicine,  physical  education,  mental  hygiene,  etc. 

For  the  public  health  nurse  a  three  years'  course  of  hos- 
pital training  and  one  year  of  post-graduate  social  service 
work,  following  the  completion  of  the  high-school  course. 

To  those  who  contemplate  enrolling  in  this  army  of 
health  educators  the  time  of  preparation  may  seem  long; 
but  the  study  is  full  of  interest  and  opportunity,  and  one 
may  look  forward  to  a  field  offering  almost  unlimited 
scope  for  individual  accomplishment. 

Financial  returns  vary  widely  and  are  assuming  more 
attractive  proportions  as  the  fundamental  value  of  this 
work  receives  public  recognition.  In  the  practice  of  med- 
icine one  may  not  expect  a  comfortable  income  under  five 
years,  and  it  is  well  to  plan  for  a  nest-egg  to  tide  over 
this  period  of  waiting.  A  medical  practice  grows  by 
careful  and  patient  attention  to  office  hours  and  the  giv- 
ing of  honest  and  scientific  service  to  one's  patients.  The 
range  of  income  varies  from  two  to  five  thousand  dollars 
per  annum,  increasing  in  later  life  to  ten  thousand  dollars. 
Salaries  in  institutional  positions  range  from  nine  hun- 
dred to  two  thousand  dollars  with  maintenance.  Labora- 
tory positions  vary  from  one  thousand  to  thirty-five  hun- 
dred dollars.  In  social  service,  school  medical  inspec- 
tion, municipal  court  work,  etc.,  on  part  time,  the  salary 
approximates  five  hundred  to  one  thousand  dollars;  on 
full  time  the  maximum  reached  is  five  thousand  dollars. 
Teaching  positions  carry  with  them  salaries  ranging  from 
twelve  hundred  to  twenty-five  hundred  dollars. 


246         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

In  the  practice  of  medicine  the  hours  of  work  are  not 
limited,  and  in  the  early  years  a  vacation  can  rarely  be 
taken.  Laboratory  and  teaching  hours  are  limited,  as  is 
usual  in  such  lines.  Institutional  positions  are  confining, 
but  probably  afford  the  minimum  amount  of  nervous 
strain. 

Opportunities  for  advancement  are  good,  but  limited  to 
some  extent  by  sex.  Good  health  is  absolutely  essential 
to  success  in  medicine  in  any  of  its  branches.  One  must 
cultivate  the  social  instinct  to  attain  success  in  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine,  and  the  capacity  to  initiate  and  to  sus- 
tain effort  is  as  essential  in  this  profession  as  in  any  other. 
Here  is  no  sinecure  for  the  selfish  or  the  lazy ;  but  for  the 
woman  who  desires  a  life-work  of  satisfying  service,  and 
who  is  willing  to  give  to  the  uttermost  while  living,  the 
medical  profession  offers  the  fullest  possible  opportunity. 

MARTHA  TRACY, 

Dean  of  the  Woman's  Medical  College 
of  Pennsylvania. 


Wide  World  Photo 


MME.  SKLODOWSKA  CURIE 
The  discoverer  of  radium 


THE  WOMAN  LABORATORY  WORKER 

ONLY  in  the  last  few  years  has  the  laboratory  been 
open  to  women  workers.  All  scientific  work  is  re- 
quiring more  and  more  aid  from  the  laboratory,  which 
promises  well  for  the  future.  Probably  the  prerequisites 
of  the  laboratory  worker  vary  more  than  in  other  lines 
of  work  open  to  women,  because  there  are  so  many 
branches  of  science,  and  the  various  laboratories  cover 
one  or  several  of  these,'*  according  to  size  and  conditions. 

The  individuality  of  the  worker  herself  is  most  im- 
portant. Educational  requirements  vary  with  the  labora- 
tory and  the  position.  Some  laboratories  will  take  in- 
experienced girls  and  train  them;  others  require  a  term 
of  volunteer  work  before  giving  positions.  Government 
and  municipal  positions  are  subject  to  civil  service,  and  in 
the  examination  education  and  experience  count.  In  gen- 
eral well  educated  women  and  those  with  experience  are 
preferred. 

There  may  be  a  bewildering  variety  in  laboratory  work, 
or  it  may  be  monotonous.  Some  laboratories  do  routine 
work  exclusively  —  chemical  analysis  of  foods,  metals, 
etc. ;  preparation  and  examination  of  cultures  of  bacteria, 
such  as  diphtheria  and  tuberculosis,  preparation  of  sec- 
tions of  pathological  tissues  or  preparation  of  vaccines, 
antitoxins,  etc.  For  the  worker  who  must  do  only  one 
of  these  the  work  is  necessarily  monotonous.  Fortu- 
nately, however,  most  laboratories  do  several  or  all  of 

248 


WOMAN  LABORATORY  WORKER     249 

them,  and  the  worker  has  a  variety.  Many  laboratories 
combine  with  the  routine  more  or  less  experimental  work, 
which  is  always  interesting  and  requires  one  to  be  in 
touch  with  similar  work  done  in  other  places. 

Contrary  to  the  opinion  of  many  people,  laboratory 
work  is  not  easy.  The  positions  open  to  untrained  work- 
ers are  chiefly  technical  and  require  at  times  rather  strenu- 
ous work.  The  scientific  positions  also  require  a  certain 
amount  of  technical  work,  besides  considerable  responsi- 
bility. There  is  an  element  of  danger  in  most  laboratory 
work,  for  one  is  continually  handling  virulent  organisms, 
infectious  material,  and  dangerous  chemicals.  With  care 
much  of  the  danger  of  accident  and  infection  is  removed, 
but  one  must  fully  realize  that  there  is  danger. 

Laboratory  hours  at  best  are  irregular,  since  the  work 
must  be  done  regardless  of  time.  The  stated  time  is 
usually  from  nine  to  five,  with  a  half  day  Saturday;  but 
these  hours  are  seldom  closely  followed,  and  at  times 
fifty- four  hours  a  week  are  required.  Holiday  and  Sun- 
day work  are  often  necessary  in  the  medical  laboratory. 

The  salary  of  the  untrained  worker  is  usually  from 
fifty  to  seventy-five  dollars  a  month.  The  woman  with 
a  year  or  two  of  experience  is  paid  from  one  hundred  to 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  a  month.  The  aver- 
age small  laboratory  or  hospital  can  not  afford  to  pay 
more  than  this.  In  some  commercial,  municipal,  and 
government  laboratories,  however,  the  woman  in  earnest, 
who  has  ideas  and  can  work  them  out,  can  do  better.  As 
a  rule,  fifteen  hundred  dollars  a  year  is  the  maximum  at 
the  present  time.  To  be  successful,  good  health  is  abso- 
lutely necessary.  Speed,  accuracy,  ambition,  persever- 


250         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

ance,  and  enthusiasm  are  all  helpful,  but  they  need  a 
foundation  of  good  health. 

The  fact  that  many  manufacturers  are  dependent  on 
the  experiments  of  the  laboratory,  and  that  many  dis- 
coveries of  modern  medicine  have  come  from  the  labora- 
tory, prove  that  its  importance  is  increasing  daily  both 
from  a  business  and  scientific  standpoint.  For  a  woman 
not  afraid  of  real  work  the  laboratory  offers  a  field  that 
is  intensely  interesting  and  worth  while. 

ELSIE  ROBBINS, 

Laboratory  of  the  Municipal  Hospital, 
Philadelphia. 


INSURANCE 

MOST  good  life-insurance  companies  are  insisting 
on  every  girl  in  their  employ  having  at  least  a 
full  high-school  education  or  its  equivalent.  Some  col- 
lege graduates  are  to  be  found  among  the  employees  of 
at  least  one  local  company.  In  the  latter  case  the  girl 
who  has  a  liking  for  mathematics  and  has  majored  in  this 
subject  in  college  will  find  that  the  statistical  and  actuarial 
departments  offer  her  the  best  opening.  There  are  actu- 
arial societies  in  this  country,  but  before  one  can  become 
an  actuary  it  is  necessary  to  pass  their  examinations. 
However,  the  actuarial  department  offers  plenty  of  scope 
for  a  woman  who  is  apt  in  figures  and  has  a  liking  for 
this  kind  of  work. 

For  the  other  departments  of  insurance  —  except  field 
work  —  nothing  but  absolute  contact  can  prove  a  fitness 
for  any  particular  line.  As  a  basis  for  a  general  office 
position,  stenography  and  typewriting  are  almost  indis- 
pensable. An  ability  to  use  a  typewriter  can  not  be  over- 
estimated. Early  association  with  an  office  begins  this 
way,  and  insures  a  living  salary.  Through  writing  let- 
ters and  articles  for  office  publications,  one  gains  a  famil- 
iarity with  insurance  terms  and  principles,  and  the  brains 
of  the  business  are  demonstrated  through  these  channels. 
The  efficient  woman  grows  away  from  dictation,  but  the 
typewriter  never  'ceases  to  be  the  best  medium  of  expres- 
sion. An  apprenticeship  of  this  kind  is  the  best  prepara- 

251 


252         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

tion  possible  for  field  work ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
delays  getting  out  into  the  field  if  one  wants  to  work  in 
the  salesmanship  end  of  the  business.  The  only  ad- 
vantage is  that  one  secures  a  familiarity  with  the  busi- 
ness that  no  other  method  of  contact  can  give. 

If  a  woman  wants  to  sell  insurance,  the  best  thing  for 
her  to  do  is  to  devote  several  weeks  to  learning  the  prin- 
ciples of  insurance  in  general  and  the  methods  of  the  par- 
ticular company  with  which  she  decides  to  associate  her- 
self. In  this  connection  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  company  that  offers  the  largest  commission  on  busi- 
ness written  is  not  so  wise  a  choice  as  a  company  offering 
smaller  commissions,  but  whose  insurance  is  easier  to 
sell. 

Insurance  is  dependent  on  the  law  of  average.  Hun- 
dreds of  calls  must  be  made  before  relationship  can  be 
established  with  ten  or  twenty.  Therefore  a  woman 
should,  if  possible,  elect  to  sell  insurance,  at  least  at  first, 
among  people  to  whom  she  is  known  or  with  whom  she 
has  some  common  bond. 

She  must  be  prepared  to  take  "  no  "  for  an  answer 
many  times,  and  yet  have  courage  to  go  back  and  convert 
the  skeptic  into  a  belief  in  insurance  and  a  decision  to  act. 
The  public,  at  least  the  feminine  public,  is  not  yet  edu- 
cated up  to  the  advantages  and  opportunities  of  insurance, 
and  any  woman  who  undertakes  to  sell  it  must  be  willing 
to  do  some  pioneer  work. 

One  advantage  of  selling  insurance  is  that  it  can  be 
done  at  any  time  — one's  hours  are  one's  own,  and  they 
can  be  long  or  short,  according  to  a  woman's  strength, 
interest,  and  desire  for  results.  The  entrance  of  women 


INSURANCE  253 

into  many  kinds  of  work  affords  an  opportunity  for  solic- 
iting not  open  six  or  eight  years  ago,  and  the  old  belief 
that  insurance  is  for  man  only  is  fast  disappearing.  To 
convince  a  woman  that  endowment  insurance  offers  her 
a  chance  to  lay  aside  part  of  her  savings  for  her  own  com- 
fort in  later  life,  and  at  the  same  time  protect  her  estate 
or  dependent  relatives,  is  becoming  easier  every  year,  and 
thousands  of  women  are  taking  advantage  of  this  method 
of  saving. 

Women  have  already  proved  their  ability  along  this 
line,  as  most  big  agencies  have  one  or  two  women  solic- 
itors on  their  staff.  In  Boston  and  Chicago  there  are 
agencies  under  the  management  of  women  which  are 
highly  successful.  Work  along  the  line  indicated  is 
purely  on  a  commission  basis.  The  settlement  of  a  pre- 
mium on  a  policy  means  the  payment  of  a  commission  to 
the  solicitor,  and  in  cases  where  good  business  is  being 
done,  a  drawing  account  can  be  established  against  these 
commissions.  An  inside  position,  with  a  knowledge  of 
stenography  and  typewriting,  offers  from  fifteen  dollars 
a  week  up  to  begin  with,  whereas  selling  life  insurance 
means  a  quicker  method  of  making  money  after  one  has 
learned  and  applied  the  principles  of  salesmanship.  Most 
agencies  have  every  facility  for  teaching  these  principles, 
and  use  every  opportunity  to  help  the  beginner  to  an  un- 
derstanding of  the  business  and  insurance  in  general. 

Insurance  has  a  tremendous  future.  Heretofore 
looked  upon  as  only  for  a  man,  and  then  only  for  the  pro- 
tection of  his  family,  it  has  since  become  adopted  for 
partnerships,  corporations,  class  endowments,  creditors, 
and  finally  for  women  workers,  offering  an  avenue  of  in- 


254         OPPORTUNITIES  OF 'TODAY 

vestment  for  smaller  sums  than  can  be  invested  in  real 
estate  or  bonds. 

To  succeed  in  the  salesmanship  field,  a  woman  needs 
all  the  tact  and  perseverance  and  courage  she  can  possibly 
develop.  It  calls  for  an  unusual  gift  of  "  pluck  "  to  stand 
the  first  weeks  or  months  of  canvassing;  for,  as  has  been 
said  before,  it  is  the  law  of  average  that  counts,  and  a 
solicitor  must  be  willing  to  call  on  hundreds  of  people 
in  order  to  secure  ten  or  twelve  out  of  each  hundred. 
You  have  no  samples  to  show,  you  are  not  selling  a  com- 
modity, and  your  work  is  to  convince  your  prospect  that 
you  are  offering  some  benefit.  To  follow  every  adverse 
argument  or  criticism,  or  to  face  indifference,  calls  for 
quick  wit,  eternal  patience,  and  a  determination  to  con- 
vince your  adversary  of  the  truth  of  your  statements. 

To  sell  insurance  means  to  serve  your  community. 
Thousands  of  people  to-day  are  spending  beyond  their 
means,  and  if  you  can  insure  at  least  a  partial  saving 
from  a  woman's  salary  you  are  doing  for  her  a  good  that 
years  will  prove.  Your  own  position  is  one  of  dignity, 
for  the  insurance  profession  is  protected  by  legislation  as 
never  before  against  crooked  practices.  And  you  are 
absolutely  mistress  of  your  own  time.  What  you  must 
do  is  to  discover  which  part  of  that  public  will  give  you 
the  best  hearing,  which  you  can  best  serve,  and  then  work. 

MABEL  M.  SPENCER. 


NURSING 

THERE  is  a  large  demand  for  well  educated,  well 
trained  registered  graduate  nurses  to  fill  the  fol- 
lowing positions: 

Private  nurse  in  homes. 

Institutional  positions,  as  superintendent,  assistant  su- 
perintendent, anesthetist,  dietitian,  social  service 
nurse,  supervisor. 

Instructor  in  schools  of  nursing. 

Public  health  nurse,  including  visiting,  school,  county, 
community,  infant  welfare,  and  industrial  nurses. 

Nurse  in  the  Army  and  Navy  Nurse  Corps. 

Nurse  in  boarding-schools  and  colleges. 

Office  nurse. 

The  work  of  the  private  nurse  is  usually  the  care  of 
one  patient  in  the  home.  This  form  of  nursing  demands 
special  adaptability  and  tact  on  the  part  o<f  the  nurse. 

The  amount  of  work  that  comes  to  a  nurse  depends  en- 
tirely upon  the  nurse  herself.  The  first  calls  come  usually 
through  a  registry,  later  ones  through  physicians  and 
friends  of  patients.  The  remuneration  for  this  work 
varies  with  different  localities,  from  thirty  to  forty  dol- 
lars a  week.  While  working,  the  nurse  is  at  no  expense 
except  for  her  room,  which  of  course  she  must  retain 
throughout  the  year. 

Institutional  positions  demand  special  training  and  the 
additional  qualification  of  executive  ability.  In  many  of 

255 


256         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

these  positions  the  nurse  must  be  able  to  plan  and  direct 
the  work  of  others.  These  positions  pay  from  seventy- 
five  dollars  a  month,  with  all  living  expenses,  to  three 
hundred  dollars.  This  is  the  maximum  to-day,  except 
for  women  of  large  experience  in  very  large  institutions. 


CLARA  BARTON 
Organizer  of  the  American   Red   Cross 

The  salary  of  a  dietitian  is  from  seventy-five  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  month.  A  nurse  needs  an 
extra  year  in  domestic  science  to  prepare  for  this  posi- 
tion. The  work  includes  the  teaching  of  student  nurses 
as  well  as  the  planning  of  food  for  all  classes  of  people 
in  the  institution. 

The  work  of  the  public  health  nurse  is  largely  teach- 


NURSING  257 

ing,  rather  than  actual  nursing.  She  visits  people  in 
their  homes  and  teaches  them  not  only  how  to  care  for 
their  sick,  but  how  to  live  in  accordance  with  the  simple 
rules  of  hygiene  and  thus  keep  themselves  well.  She 
needs  special  training  for  a  time  along  social  lines ;  how- 
ever, her  training  as  a  nurse  lays  the  best  possible  founda- 
tion for  this  special  training.  The  salary  varies  from 
eighty-five  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  month. 

The  work  of  instructor  in  a  school  for  nursing  is  es- 
pecially adapted  to  nurses  who  have  previously  taken  the 
work  in  college  that  would  prepare  them  for  teaching. 
The  branches  taught  are  technical,  but  modern  teaching 
methods  are  much  needed  in  our  schools  of  nursing. 
These  positions  pay  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  a  month,  with  living  expenses. 

Nurses  are  employed  now  in  the  hospitals  at  army  posts 
and  naval  stations.  The  actual  nursing  is  largely  done 
by  trained  corpsmen,  the  nurses  being  put  in  charge  of 
wards  and  departments  to  supervise  and  help  teach  these 
corpsmen.  These  positions  require  executive  ability. 
Nurses  are  paid  seventy-two  to  one  hundred  and  eight 
dollars  a  month,  maintenance,  laundry,  and  traveling  ex- 
penses, in  this  country,  and  more  abroad. 

The  office  nurse  acts  as  the  physician's  assistant  in  his 
office  work,  preparing  for  minor  operations,  caring  for  all 
appliances,  instruments,  etc.  One  hundred  to  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars  is  the  usual  salary. 

The  nurse  in  college  dormitories  and  in  boarding- 
schools  has  come  to  stay.  Here  there  is  an  opportunity  to 
do  preventive  work.  The  nurse's  main  object  and  purpose 
is  to  keep  the  students  well,  to  teach  them  how  to  take 


258         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

care  of  themselves.  The  remuneration  is  from  ninety  to 
one  hundred  dollars  a  month,  with  living  expenses. 

A  well  rounded,  general  nursing  training  is  absolutely 
essential  as  a  foundation  for  any  and  all  of  the  various 
fields  of  special  work  in  nursing.  The  best  schools  to- 
day require  a  high-school  education  as  a  requisite  for  en- 
trance. 

A  school  connected  with  a  hospital  giving  a  variety  of 
services  —  for  example  medical,  surgical,  obstetrical,  and 
children  —  should  be  selected. 

To  become  a  specialist  in  the  field  of  nursing  demands 
some  additional  training  in  the  branch  of  work  chosen. 

The  nursing  profession  offers  a  field  of  activity  that  is 
rapidly  increasing  in  breadth  and  variety  of  opportunity, 
in  possibilities  of  service,  and  in  vital  human  interest  that 
will  give  larger  returns  to  the  educated  woman  than 
almost  any  other  profession  open  to  women. 

LOUISE  M.  POWELL,  R.  N., 

Superintendent,  School  for  Nurses, 
University  of  Minnesota. 


THE  HOSPITAL  DIETITIAN 

THE  student  of  domestic  science  finds  many  fields 
open  to  her  other  than  that  of  teaching,  and  of 
these  none  is  more  interesting  and  satisfying,  nor  on  the 
other  hand  more  exacting,  than  that  of  the  hospital  die- 
titian. Fifteen  years  ago  only  a  small  number  of  the 
largest  hospitals  had  as  a  member  of  their  hospital  staff 
a  resident  dietitian.  A  few  others  made  it  possible  for 
their  pupil  nurses  to  have  a  short  course,  of  a  very  prac- 
tical nature,  in  dietetics.  The  study  of  dietetics  and  its 
relation  to  preventive  as  well  as  curative  medicine  has 
increased  in  interest  and  demand  until  we  find  only  a  few 
hospitals  or  sanatoriums  without  a  resident  dietitian  as  a 
member  of  the  staff  and  recognized  head  of  her  depart- 
ment. 

For  the  young  woman  desiring  to  specialize  in  this  pro- 
fession there  can  be  no  better  foundation  than  good  home 
training,  where  she  has  been  taught  a  keen  sense  of  honor 
and  justice,  care  for  her  own  health  and  the  health  and 
happiness  of  members  of  her  household,  with  a  careful 
regard  for  her  own  and  others'  possessions.  Good 
health,  common  sense,  a  pleasing  personality,  executive 
ability,  and  an  ever-present  alertness  to  observe  and  de- 
cide quickly  and  accomplish  her  tasks  'carefully,  sys- 
tematically, and  willingly,  are  necessary  requisites. 

Domestic  science  schools  require  applicants  to  be  gradu- 
ates of  high  schools  of  good  standing,  where  a  good 
foundation  in  chemistry  has  been  given.  The  technical 

259 


260         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

courses  vary  from  one  to  four  years,  and  after  this  work 
the  graduate  must  have  practical  experience  in  a  hospital 
under  the  guidance  of  a  dietitian  who  has  specialized  in 
this  profession. 

No  matter  from  what  technical  school  she  may  be  a 
graduate,  one  of  the  first  questions  asked  a  young  woman 


Photo  by  Brown  Bros. 

HOSPITAL  KITCHEN 
A  lesson  in  dietetics 

applying  for  a  hospital  position  is,  "  What  experience 
have  you  had?"  To  meet  this  end,  some  of  the  large 
hospitals  are  giving  a  course  for  pupil  dietitians  for  which 
only  domestic  science  graduates  are  considered.  The 
courses  vary  with  the  demands  of  the  institutions  in 
which  they  are  given.  Five  years  ago  the  Jefferson  Med- 
ical College  Hospital  offered  a  six  months'  course  for  one 


THE  HOSPITAL  DIETITIAN          261 

pupil  to  be  on  duty ;  but  the  demand  for  admission  was  so 
instant  that  the  course  was  changed  to  four  months,  allow- 
ing two  pupils  on  duty. 

The  duties  include  all  details  in  managing  a  diet  kitchen, 
in  which  all  diets  for  private  patients  and  special  orders, 
including  metabolic  diets,  for  ward  patients  are  planned, 
prepared,  and  served  by  the  pupil  nurses  and  pupil  die- 
titians. From  this  experience  the  pupil  dietitians  become 
accustomed  to  life  in  a  hospital,  its  discipline  and  man- 
agement, and  are  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  think- 
ing clearly  and  quickly,  as  well  as  acting  quickly,  accom- 
plishing their  duties  well  and  in  the  shortest  space  of  time 
possible. 

The  duties  of  the  resident  dietitian  are  not  the  same 
in  every  institution.  She  may  have  charge  of  the  diet 
kitchen  in  which  only  the  special  orders  for  both  private 
and  ward  patients  are  prepared,  or  the  work  may  include 
this,  together  with  the  planning,  preparing,  and  serving 
of  all  diets  for  private  patients  and  metabolic  diets  for 
ward  patients.  In  other  hospitals  she  may  have  charge 
of  the  entire  dietetic  department  of  the  institution,  which 
includes  requisitions  for  all  food  supplies,  charge  of  both 
general  and  diet  kitchens,  serving-rooms,  dining-rooms, 
and  the  employees  under  her  control.  In  the  large  hos- 
pitals all  food  supplies  are  purchased  by  the  steward,  but 
in  the  small  hospitals  by  the  dietitian,  and  in  this  case 
the  store-rooms  are  under  her  supervision.  No  matter 
what  her  other  duties  may  include,  she  is  always  re- 
sponsible for  all  instruction  in  dietetics,  both  practical 
and  theoretical,  given  to  the  pupil  nurses. 

The  hours  on  duty  are  long,  usually  from  7  A.  M.  until  7 


262         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

or  8  P.  M.,  with  two  or  three  hours  each  day,  one  half  day 
each  week,  and  every  alternate  Sunday  off  duty.  The 
salaries  range  from  five  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred  dol- 
lars a  year,  with  living  expenses. 

The  future  holds  much  in  store  for  the  successful  hos- 
pital dietitian.  Many  hospitals  are  feeling  the  need  of 
special  diet  kitchens  for  metabolic  work,  which  will  create 
a  need  for  those  graduates  who  are  particularly  inter- 
ested in  the  scientific  work.  Each  year  sees  more  hos- 
pitals giving  over  the  entire  dietetics  department  to  the 
dietitian,  a  phase  of  the  work  that  appeals  to  those  gradu- 
ates having  marked  executive  ability.  Both  the  laity 
and  hospital  staff  are  realizing  the  importance  and  in- 
fluence that  the  well  systematized  dietetic  department  of 
a  hospital  has  throughout  the  hospital  and  community. 

HELEN  EVANGELINE.GILSON, 

Chief  Resident  Dietitian, 

Jefferson  Medical  College  Hospital, 

Philadelphia. 


STATISTICAL  WORK  FOR  WOMEN 

STATISTICAL  work  covers  a  broad  field  and  requires 
people  of  varying  attainments.  Positions  grade 
from  those  as  mechanical  as  typewriting  to  those  that  re- 
quire a  profound  knowledge  of  higher  mathematics  and 
a  general  knowledge  of  economics,  sociology,  political  sci- 
ence, and  other  branches  of  learning.  As  might  be  sup- 
posed, advancement  depends  to  a  large  extent  upon  the 
educational  equipment  of  the  worker. 

At  present  the  educational  facilities  for  training  for 
this  career  are  very  limited  both  for  men  and  for  women. 
A  few  courses  in  statistics  are  given  at  the  big  univers- 
ities, but  these  are  admittedly  inadequate.  The  Actuarial 
Society  of  America,  the  guild  of  statisticians  that 
crowns  the  profession,  requires  applicants  to  pass  a  series 
of  examinations  in  order  to  qualify  for  membership  in 
that  body.  Preparation  for  these  examinations  is  largely 
private  and  personal.  At  present  there  is  one  woman 
among  the  two  hundred  and  sixty  members. 

Other  opportunities  for  training  exist  in  apprentice 
work  in  places  where  statistical  work  is  actually  done  — 
insurance  companies,  Federal  and  State  census  bureaus, 
registration  offices,  and  various  investigating  and  re- 
search agencies. 

Like  so  many  other  kinds  of  work,  a  large  proportion 
of  the  effort  spent  to  achieve  results  is  mechanical  and 
under  the  guidance  of  a  few  directing  minds.  In  the 

263 


264         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

statistical  field  there  are  vast  quantities  of  purely  me- 
chanical work,  such  as  counting,  punching  holes  in  cards, 
sorting  documents,  and  filling  out  forms.  As  a  rule,  this 
kind  of  work  is  poorly  paid.  A  girl  often  punches  two 
and  three  thousand  cards  a  day  for  ten  or  eleven  dollars 
a  week. 

Persons  who  are  employed  to  collect  the  more  simple 
kinds  of  information  (census-takers  and  the  like)  receive 
a  higher  compensation  than  the  purely  mechanical  work- 
ers. Such  positions  generally  pay  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
hundred  dollars.  The  gathering  of  technical  information 
receives  a  still  higher  compensation  —  from  fifteen  to 
eighteen  hundred  dollars.  Supervisors,  persons  who 
have  the  ability  to  formulate  schedules  and  to  devise  ways 
of  presenting  statistical  information  clearly  and  effec- 
tively, receive  still  higher  salaries,  ranging  roughly  from 
two  to  five  thousand  dollars.  Usually  these  positions  call 
for  persons  educated  to  interpret  the  facts  presented.  A 
person  without  a  college  education  or  its  equivalent  could 
scarcely  compete  for  this  type  of  position. 

At  the  apex  of  the  profession  stand  the  actuaries  — 
those  who  need,  in  addition  to  all  the  foregoing  qualifica- 
tions, to  use  higher  mathematics  or  the  actuarial  sciences 
in  the  working  out  of  their  problems.  This  is  one  of  the 
best  paid  of  the  professions.  One  of  the  large  insurance 
companies  pays  its  chief  actuary  a  salary  of  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year.  Women  have,  in  some  instances,  en- 
tered this  profession. 

The  personal  qualifications,  apart  from  educational 
equipment,  that  contribute  most  to  success  in  this  kind  of 
work  are  accuracy,  careful  attention  to  detail,  and  pa- 


STATISTICAL  WORK  FOR  WOMEN     265 

tience.  It  is  also  well  to  have  as  much  insight  and  ap- 
preciation of  the  meaning  and  significance  of  the  job  as 
can  be  brought  to  bear. 

While  statistical  work  is  considered  detached,  dry, 
and  uninteresting  by  the  majority  of  people,  it  has  a  close 
and  intimate  relation  with  the  rest  of  the  world.  Any 
enlargement  of  the  field  of  knowledge  that  leads  to  pro- 
gress, to  the  better  understanding  of  the  world  about 
us,  is  worthy  of  honest  and  painstaking  effort. 

NEVA  R.  DEARDORFF, 

„  Assistant  Director, 

Bureau  of  Municipal  Research, 

Philadelphia. 


Photo  by  Brown  Bros. 

WOMEN  HORTICULTURISTS 

Working  with  growing  things 


HORTICULTURE  OFFERS  A  NEW  OPEN-AIR 
VOCATION  FOR  WOMEN 

SOME  years  ago  a  small  group  of  prominent  club- 
women in  Philadelphia  caught  a  vision  of  a  practical 
training  in  horticulture  for  women,  one  to  combine  the- 
ory   with    actual    day-by-day,    month-by-month    practice 
with  the  growftig  things. 

The  outcome  of  their  belief  in  their  vision  was  the  pur- 
chase of  seventy  acres  of  excellent  farm-land  about  six- 
teen miles  from  Philadelphia,  near  the  pretty  suburban 
town  of  Ambler,  and  the  School  of  Horticulture  for 
Women  became  a  fact.  Starting  with  one  student  and 
two  instructors,  the  school  now  has  ten  teachers  and  a 
waiting  list  of  students.  One  building  has  grown  to 
several,  with  plans  drawn  for  others,  already  greatly 
needed.  One  small  greenhouse  has  branched  out  into 
three  of  goodly  size. 

America,  curiously  enough,  with  all  her  vast  land  re- 
sources and  clever  women,  has  been  far  behind  other 
countries  in  opening  this  career  to  its  women.  England, 
Germany,  Russia,  Belgium,  Italy,  and  Denmark  have 
graduated  hundreds  of  girls  to  well  paid  positions  as  man- 
agers of  public  or  private  gardens,  independent  commer- 
cial work,  or  as  consulting  horticulturists,  lecturers,  and 
teachers.  Of  course,  many  American  women  have  made 
good  as  florists,  market-gardeners,  and  managers  of  fruit 

267 


268         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

farms  or  orchards;  but  until  recently  no  adequate  prac- 
tical education  along  these  lines  has  been  offered  in  this 
country. 

In  the  two  years  required  to  complete  the  regular 
course  each  student  plants  and  cares  for  a  small  plot  of 
ground  under  instruction,  for  which  she  is  held  responsi- 
ble. She  has  the  care,  also,  of  certain  parts  of  the 
greenhouse,  nursery,  orchard,  and  vineyard,  combined 
with  practice  in  the  various  horticultural  operations  not 
considered  too  heavy  for  her. 

She  is  required  to  keep  a  daily  record  of  her  work. 
In  this  way  she  becomes  familiar  with  the  length  of  time 
required  for  the  germination  of  seeds  and  the  develop- 
ment of  flowers,  fruits,  and  vegetables. 

Canning  and  preserving  form  a  required  part  of  the 
course,  as  the  conserving  of  surplus  fruits  and  vegetables 
is  of  great  economic  value.  Training  in  the  principles 
of  simple  carpentry  is  required,  and  the  students  are 
taught  to  make  cold-frames,  boxes,  flats,  tool-lockers, 
tables,  and  simple  furniture. 

Handling  dynamite  in  removing  old  tree-stumps  for  a 
new  orchard  is  a  startling  part  of  the  knowledge  acquired 
in  the  junior  class.  Bees  are  the  subject  of  a  most  fas- 
cinating study,  and  a  thorough  course  in  poultry-raising 
is  under  an  experienced  specialist.  Chemistry  is  studied 
in  its  relation  to  soils  and  the  proper  use  of  fertilizers, 
insecticides,  and  fungicides.  The  course  in  entomology 
introduces  to  the  student  her  friends  and  foes  among 
growing  things,  with  methods  to  protect  the  former  and 
combat  the  latter.  Landscape-gardening,  commercial 
law,  market  methods,  and  bookkeeping,  school  gardening, 


A  NEW  VOCATION  FOR  WOMEN     269 

care  of  the  wood  lot,  and  greenhouse  construction  all  have 
a  place  in  this  comprehensive  training. 

About  twenty  acres  are  used  for  the  school  in  the  vari- 
ous branches  of  horticulture,  and  the  remainder  for  farm 
crops.  Much  of  that  part  used  for  horticulture  is  given 
to  special  plantations  for  practice  and  experimental  work 
for  the  students.  This  includes  an  old  apple  orchard,  a 
number  of  pear-trees,  young  apple,  peach,  plum,  and 
cherry  orchards,  a  vineyard  of  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  vines,  a  large  variety  of  small  fruits,  flower  and 
vegetable  gardens,  nurseries,  greenhouses,  hotbeds,  cold- 
frames,  bee  colonies,  and  a  poultry  plant. 

Fascinating  work,  a  good  living,  if  the  knowledge 
gained  is  commercialized,  and  health  would  seem  to  make 
of  this  outdoor  career  a  wise  choice  for  American  girls 
of  the  future. 

KATHERINE  SPEER  REED. 


THE  PROFESSION  OF  LANDSCAPE 
ARCHITECTURE 

THERE  is  no  profession  more  in  the  flux  and  flow 
of  adjustment  than  that  of  landscape  architecture. 
Twenty-five  years  ago  it  was  scarcely  known  —  that  is,  as 
a  profession.  Some  few  individuals  were  doing  garden 
design,  using  flowers  in  the  architectural  sense  of  sweep 
and  mass  effect.  Architects  were  laying  out  gardens  as  a 
setting  for  their  houses,  giving  over  the  planting  and  all 
color  treatment  to  nurserymen. 

Architects  are  more  and  more  giving  over  the  entire 
garden  arrangements  to  the  landscapeman,  and  nursery- 
men are  refusing  to  undertake  anything  more  than  a 
simple  bed  or  two.  The  American  Society  of  Land- 
scape Architects  was  formed  to  standardize.  No 
member  should  be  connected  with  a  nursery;  there 
should  be  certain  requirements  of  work  and  training  to 
enter.  Even  so,  the  profession  is  not  yet  so  firmly  es- 
tablished as  that  of  the  architect  or  lawyer. 

There  are  no  requirements  for  entering  a  landscape 
school  except  a  high-school  education.  Any  previous 
knowledge  and  love  of  the  plants  themselves  is  of  ad- 
vantage, but  that  alone  must  not  be  depended  on.  In 
fact,  plants  are  incidental  to  the  general  architectural  ef- 
fect. Technical  training  must  be  had  in  design  and  grad- 
ing, really  the  chief  things  to  be  considered. 

Juggling  with  ground  elevations,  constructing  pools, 

270 


LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTURE         271 

walls,  etc.,  building  roadways  and  the  like,  all  come 
within  the  scope  of  the  landscape  architect.  A  knowl- 
edge of  the  growth  of  plants  as  regards  successive  crops 
must  be  had ;  also  their  color  combination  —  what  colors 
to  use  for  distant  vista  effects  and  what  colors  near  by. 
The  best  and  quickest  method  of  procuring  this  educa- 
tion is  through  a  landscape  school.  The  various  branches 
may  be  taken  piecemeal  through  a  course  in  architectural 
design,  an  apprenticeship  to  an  architect  or  landscape 
architect,  and  a  course  at  a  horticultural  school  or  work 
at  a  nursery. 

The  duties  and  problems  of  the  work  are,  first,  to  get 
definite  plans  mapped  out  on  paper,  and,  second,  to  see 
that  those  plans  are  carried  out.  The  latter  involves 
many  problems  with  the  engineer,  the  gardener,  the  nurs- 
eryman, the  plumber,  the  mason,  and  sometimes  even 
with  the  architect.  One  should  be  able  to  meet  all  of 
these,  to  have  the  picture  definitely  enough  in  mind  to 
make  them  see  it  and  accomplish  what  is  wanted.  Tech- 
nical training  along  these  lines  is,  therefore,  necessary 
to  make  the  plans  a  reality. 

Architects  charge  on  a  commission  basis,  but  landscape 
architects  as  a  rule  charge  a  certain  fee  for  plans,  accord- 
ing to  the  amount  of  work  to  be  done,  and  a  charge  each 
day  for  visits.  No  charges  have  been  standardized,  so 
that  it  is  entirely  a  matter  for  the  individual,  and  in  con- 
sequence there  is  great  latitude.  Fees  for  plans  range 
from  twenty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  depending 
in  the  main  upon  the  individual  who  makes  them. 
Charges  for  visits  vary  from  fifteen  to  one  hundred  dol- 
lars a  day. 


272         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

As  in  all  professions,  it  is  difficult  to  get  a  start,  the 
chances  for  advancement  depending  entirely  on  one's 
ability  to  forge  ahead.  A  deep  artistic  sense  of  form, 
composition,  and  color,  together  with  executive  ability, 
are  the  main  requirements.  Health  is  necessary,  as  one 
is  out  in  all  kinds  of  weather.  Office  hours  are  the  usual 
ones,  but  there  are  often  early  trains,  and  many  days  are 
spent  tramping  over  a  prospective  job.  • 

The  relation  of  landscape  architecture  to  the  com- 
munity is  the  same  as  that  of  all  art.  The  beauty  of 
gardens,  trees,  and  roadways  is  no  less  important  than 
that  of  a  painting  or  mosaic.  The  various  civic  and 
municipal  movements  of  the  last  few  years  are  witness 
to  it,  and  the  profession  should  further  these  efforts  to 
beautify  in  all  possible  ways. 

ELIZABETH  BOOTES  CLARK. 


INTERIOR  DECORATING 

\  RCHITECTURE  is  closely  related  to  decorating. 
jL\.  The  decorator  who  has  a  knowledge  of  architecture 
has  a  great  advantage  over  one  who  has  not;  problems 
which  interior  construction  present  often  affect  very  ma- 
terially a  decorative  scheme. 

In  connection  with  the  above  the  knowledge  of  me- 
chanical drawing  is  very  helpful.  Familiarity  with 
house  plans  and  the  ability  to  figure  spaces  on  these  with 
a  scale  rule  are  often  necessary. 

Mental  arithmetic — for  figuring  yardage  of  goods, 
carpets,  wall  coverings  and  drapery  materials,  is  an  asset 
to  the  decorator.  One  is  often  called  upon  to  give  im- 
mediate approximate  estimates  on  any  matter  under  con- 
sideration. 

A  passable  off-hand  sketch  often  serves  as  no  mere  ex- 
planation can,  to  make  clear  to  the  customer  the  idea  or 
plan  which  the  decorator  has  in  mind.  Therefore,  it  is 
well  that  the  decorator  has  a  knowledge  of  the  funda- 
mentals of  free-hand  drawing. 

In  the  treatment  of  walls  or  woodwork  the  decorator 
who  can  tell  how  to  alter  a 'paint  mixture  to  correct  a 
shade  or  color  removes  uncertainty  and  argument. 

Woods,  where  they  grow,  for  what  uses  they  are 
best  adapted,  both  as  to  furniture  and  for  inside  finish  in 
a  house  and  how  the  surfaces  should  be  finished,  is  in- 
formation that  every  decorator  should  possess. 

273 


274         OPPORTUNITIES  OF  TODAY 

A  knowledge  of  cutting  and  making  up  goods  of  any 
kind  will  always  be  helpful;  any  practical  and  economical 
training  comes  into  service  often  in  advising  a  customer 
how  to  have  goods  already  in  use  remade  or  where  to 
use  such  material  in  a  different  way. 

Some  knowledge  of  electric  equipment  is  frequently 
valuable  to  preserve  balance  and  to  carry  out  a  harmoni- 
ous design. 

In  a  decorator's  world  there  is  so  much  detail  to  be 
taken  care  of  promptly  that  the  habit  of  being  systematic 
is  a  very  important  matter. 

The  customer  is  most  favorably  impressed  by  the  deco- 
rator, who  having  a  good  education  as  a  foundation,  has 
not  only  practical  experience  in  many  useful  pursuits 
(which  all  are  adjacent  to  decorating)  but  who  also  by  a 
dignified  appearance  and  manner  seems  to  take  his  pro- 
fession seriously  and  to  be  well  informed  on  the  subject 
which  he  is  handling.  This  attitude  cannot  be  assumed 
but  it  is  acquired  early  by  giving  painstaking  attention  to 
any  matter  worth  undertaking. 

MABEL  ROBINSON. 


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